Method of transmitting proximity service data and electronic device for the same

ABSTRACT

An electronic device and a method of an electronic device are provided. The electronic device includes a receiver, and a processor configured to receive first proximity service data through the receiver, wherein the first proximity service data comprises guide information that contains information indicating a device for transmitting second proximity service data and a transmission time point of the second proximity service data. The method of an electronic device includes receiving first proximity service data, wherein the first proximity service data comprises guide information that contains information indicating a device for transmitting second proximity service data and a transmission time point of the second proximity service data.

PRIORITY

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to a KoreanPatent Application filed on Nov. 26, 2014 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office and assigned Serial No. 10-2014-0166517, the entirecontent of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates generally to a method of transmittingproximity service data and a device for the same, and more particularly,to a device and method for providing high-capacity data through aproximity service in an electronic device.

2. Description of the Related Art

Recently, there has been an increase in the development of variousproximity-based services utilizing a short-range communication method.An example of a representative method is low-power proximity utilizationthat uses a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) beacon. An advertisement servicemay be provided by utilizing a proximity service in which devices neareach other share various types of information through low-power BLEbeacon transmission.

In general, a proximity service is provided through low-powercommunication. Therefore, data transferred through a proximity servicegenerally contains low-capacity data, such as a small-sized image, text,etc.

SUMMARY

Due to the low-power characteristic of a proximity service, there is alimit on service capacity that is transferred. Accordingly, informationtransferred through a proximity service is limited to small-sized data,such as a low-capacity image, text, a uniform resource locator (URL),etc. In order to send a high-capacity image, multimedia data, and otherdifferentiated service data through a proximity service, datatransmission must be made through a short-range communication connectionbetween a transmitting device and a receiving device that provides theproximity service. However, in the case of an advertisement systemtargeting a plurality of receiving devices, transmission efficiency andnetwork efficiency may deteriorate by simultaneously connecting theplurality of devices and transmitting data, and as a result, usabilitymay be hampered.

An aspect of the present disclosure provides a device and method forproviding high-capacity data through a proximity service in anelectronic device.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a device and methodfor efficiently transmitting proximity service data in an electronicdevice.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a device and methodfor providing information on second data with higher capacity throughfirst data with lower capacity in an electronic device.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides an electronic devicethat can provide a multi-step proximity service capable ofsimultaneously transmitting differentiated additional serviceinformation and high-capacity multimedia proximity service data to aplurality of surrounding electronic devices.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a device that performsa proximity-based advertisement can increase usability by performing amore precise and differentiated advertisement.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a determination as towhether to receive additional proximity service data can be madeaccording to receiving devices, thereby providing a selective proximityservice.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides various proximityservices targeting a plurality of surrounding devices can be providedthat can be efficiently performed irrespective of the number ofreceiving devices due to an operation based on multicasting.

According to an aspect of the present disclose, an electronic device isprovided. The electronic device includes a receiver, and a processorconfigured to receive first proximity service data through the receiver,wherein the first proximity service data includes guide information thatcontains information indicating a device for transmitting secondproximity service data and a transmission time point of the secondproximity service data.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronicdevice is provided. The electronic device includes a transmitter, and aprocessor configured to transmit first proximity service data throughthe receiver, wherein the first proximity service data includes guideinformation that contains information indicating a device fortransmitting second proximity service data and a transmission time pointof the second proximity service data.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronicdevice is provided. The electronic device includes a transmitter, and aprocessor configured to transmit second proximity service data throughthe receiver, wherein the second proximity service data is transmittedat a transmission time point indicated by guide information that isincluded in first proximity service data transmitted by anotherelectronic device.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of anelectronic device is provided. The method includes receiving firstproximity service data, wherein the first proximity service dataincludes guide information that contains information indicating a devicefor transmitting second proximity service data and a transmission timepoint of the second proximity service data.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of anelectronic device is provided. The method includes transmitting firstproximity service data, wherein the first proximity service dataincludes guide information that contains information indicating a devicefor transmitting second proximity service data and a transmission timepoint of the second proximity service data.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of anelectronic device is provided. The method includes transmitting secondproximity service data, wherein the second proximity service data istransmitted at a transmission time point indicated by guide informationthat is included in first proximity service data transmitted by anotherelectronic device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be more apparent from the following detaileddescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a network environment including anelectronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a programming module according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a cluster configuration for a proximity serviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a diagram of a method of allocating an internet protocol (IP)address through a proximity service according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram of a method of providing proximity servicedata according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a diagram of a secure key exchange method for proximityservice data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a diagram of coverage of proximity service data according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a diagram of an interaction between subjects that provideproximity service data according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 20 is a diagram of subjects that provide proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22 is a diagram of a method of selectively providing proximityservice data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 23 is a flow diagram of a method of selectively providing proximityservice data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 24 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 25 is a flow diagram of a method of providing proximity servicedata by a plurality of receiving devices according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIGS. 26A and 26B are diagrams of proximity service data transferaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 27 is a diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 28A and 28B are diagrams of proximity service data transferaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 29A and 29B are diagrams of proximity service data transferaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 30A and 30B are diagrams of proximity service data transferaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 31A, 31B, and 31C are diagrams of proximity service data transferaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 32 is a flowchart of a method of an electronic device according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 33 is a flowchart of a method of an electronic device according toan embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 34 is a flowchart of a method of an electronic device according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure are describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings. In the followingdescription, certain details such as detailed configuration andcomponents are provided merely to facilitate understanding of anembodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be apparentto those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications of anembodiment of the present disclosure described herein may be madewithout departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions areomitted for clarity and conciseness.

The present disclosure may include various embodiments, andmodifications and changes may be made thereto. Therefore, the presentdisclosure is described in detail with reference to certain embodimentsof the present disclosure shown in the accompanying drawings. However,it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited tothe particular embodiments of the present disclosure, but includes allmodifications/changes, equivalents, and/or alternatives falling withinthe scope and spirit of the present disclosure, as defined by theappended claims and their equivalents. In describing the accompanyingdrawings, similar reference numerals may be used to designate similarelements.

The terms “have,” “may have,” “include,” or “may include” used in thepresent disclosure indicate the presence of disclosed correspondingfunctions, operations, elements, and the like, but do not limitadditional one or more functions, operations, elements, and the like. Inaddition, it should be understood that the terms “include” or “have”used in the present disclosure indicate the presence of features,numbers, steps, operations, elements, parts, or a combination thereofdescribed in the present disclosure, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations,elements, parts, or a combination thereof. The terms “A or B,” “at leastone of A and/or B” or “one or more of A and/or B” used in the presentdisclosure include any and all combinations of the words enumerated withthem. For example, “A or B,” “at least one of A and B” or “at least oneof A or B” indicates (1) including at least one A, (2) including atleast one B, or (3) including both at least one A and at least one B.

Although the terms such as “first” and “second” used in an embodiment ofthe present disclosure may modify various elements of the embodiments,these terms do not limit the corresponding elements. For example, theseterms do not limit an order and/or the importance of the correspondingelements. These terms may be used for the purpose of distinguishing oneelement from another element. For example, a first user device and asecond user device indicate user devices and may indicate different userdevices. For example, a first element may be referred to as a secondelement without departing from the scope and spirit of the presentdisclosure, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as afirst element.

It will be understood that when an element (e.g., a first element) is“connected to” or “(operatively or communicatively) coupled with/to”another element (e.g., a second element), the element may be directlyconnected or coupled to the other element, and there may be anintervening element (e.g., a third element) between the element and theother element. In contrast, it will be understood that when an element(e.g., the first element) is “directly connected” or “directly coupled”to another element (e.g., the second element), there is no interveningelement (e.g., the third element) between the element and the otherelement.

The term “configured to (or set to)” used in the present disclosure maybe replaced with “suitable for,” “having the capacity to,” “designedto,” “adapted to,” “made to,” or “capable of” according to thesituation. The term “configured to (or set to)” does not necessarilyindicate “specifically designed to” in a hardware level. Instead, theterm “apparatus configured to . . . ” may indicate that the apparatus is“capable of . . . ” along with other devices or parts in a certainsituation. For example, “a processor configured to (or set to) performA, B, and C” may be a dedicated processor, e.g., an embedded processor,for performing a corresponding operation, or a general purposeprocessor, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) or an applicationprocessor (AP), capable of performing a corresponding operation byexecuting one or more software programs stored in a memory device.

The terms used herein merely describe certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. As usedherein, singular forms may include plural forms as well unless thecontext explicitly indicates otherwise. Further, all of the terms usedherein are intended to be interpreted as having the same meanings ascommonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the presentdisclosure pertains, and should not be interpreted to have ideal orexcessively formal meanings unless explicitly defined in a certainembodiment of the present disclosure.

A module or programming module according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may further include at least one element among theaforementioned elements, may omit some of them, or may further includeadditional elements. Operations performed by a module, programmingmodule, or other element according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may be executed in a sequential, parallel, repetitive, orheuristic manner. In addition, some of the operations may be executed ina different order or may be omitted, or other operations may be added.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure described above, theelements included in the present disclosure are expressed in singular orplural forms according to the proposed embodiments. However, thesingular or plural expressions are selected to be suitable for proposedsituations for convenience of description, and the present disclosure isnot limited to the singular or plural elements. An element expressed ina plural form may be configured in a singular form, or an elementexpressed in a singular form may be configured in a plural form.

An electronic device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may be a device. For example, the electronic device accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of asmart phone; a tablet personal computer (PC); a mobile phone; a videophone; an electronic book (e-book) reader; a desktop PC; a laptop PC; anetbook computer; a workstation, a server, a personal digital assistant(PDA); a portable multimedia player (PMP); a moving picture expertsgroup audio layer 3 (MP3) player; a mobile medical device; a camera; ora wearable device (e.g., a head-mount-device (HMD), electronic glasses,electronic clothing, an electronic bracelet, an electronic necklace, anelectronic appcessory, an electronic tattoo, a smart mirror, or a smartwatch).

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device may bea smart home appliance. For example, a smart home appliance may includeat least one of a television (TV); a digital video disk (DVD) player; anaudio component; a refrigerator; an air conditioner; a vacuum cleaner;an oven; a microwave oven; a washing machine; an air cleaner; a set-topbox; a home automation control panel; a security control panel; a TV box(e.g., Samsung HomeSync®, Apple TV®, or Google TV); a game console(e.g., Xbox® PlayStation®) an electronic dictionary; an electronic key;a camcorder; or an electronic frame.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device mayinclude at least one of a medical device (e.g., a mobile medical device(e.g., a blood glucose monitoring device, a heart rate monitor, a bloodpressure monitoring device or a thermometer), a magnetic resonanceangiography (MRA) machine, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, acomputed tomography (CT) scanner, or an ultrasound machine); anavigation device; a global positioning system (GPS) receiver; an eventdata recorder (EDR); a flight data recorder (FDR); an in-vehicleinfotainment device; an electronic device for a ship (e.g., a shipnavigation device and/or a gyrocompass); an avionics device; a securitydevice; a head unit for a vehicle; an industrial or home robot; anautomated teller machine (ATM) of a financial institution, a point ofsale (POS) device at a retail store, or an interne of things (IoT)device (e.g., a lightbulb, various sensors, an electronic meter, a gasmeter, a sprinkler, a fire alarm, a thermostat, a streetlamp, a toaster,sporting equipment, a hot-water tank, a heater, or a boiler and thelike)

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device mayinclude at least one of a piece of furniture or a building/structure; anelectronic board; an electronic signature receiving device; a projector;and various measuring instruments (e.g., a water meter, an electricitymeter, a gas meter, or a wave meter).

An electronic device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may also include a combination of one or more of theabove-mentioned devices.

Further, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that anelectronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosureis not limited to the above-mentioned devices.

Herein, the term “user” may indicate a person who uses an electronicdevice or a device (e.g., an artificial intelligence electronic device)that uses the electronic device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a network environment 100 including anelectronic device 101 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The electronic device 101 in the network environment 100,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, is described belowwith reference to FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, the electronic device 101 may include a bus 110, aprocessor 120, a memory 130, an input/output interface 150, a display160, and a communication interface 170. In an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, at least one of the elements of the electronic device 101may be omitted, or other elements may be included.

The bus 110 may include, for example, a circuit that interconnects theelements 110 to 170 and transfers communication (e.g., a control messageand/or data) between the elements 110 to 170.

The processor 120 may include at least one or more of CPU, an AP, and aCP.

The processor 120 may, for example, perform an operation or process dataunder control of and/or in communication with at least one other elementof the electronic device 101. For example, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure, the processor 120 may control to receive firstproximity service data and receive second proximity service data usingguide information required to receive the second proximity service dataincluded in the first proximity service data. Alternatively, theprocessor 120 may control to transmit first proximity service data thatincludes guide information required to receive second proximity servicedata.

The memory 130 may include a volatile memory and/or a non-volatilememory. The memory 130 may store, for example, commands or data relatingto at least one other element of the electronic device 101. According toan embodiment of the present disclosure, the memory 130 may storesoftware and/or a program 140. The program 140 may include, for example,a kernel 141, middleware 143, an application programming interface (API)145, and/or at least one application program (or “application”) 147. Atleast some of the kernel 141, the middleware 143, and the API 145 may bereferred to as an operating system (OS).

The kernel 141 may control or manage system resources (e.g., the bus110, the processor 120, or the memory 130) used to execute an operationor function implemented in other programs (e.g., the middleware 143, theAPI 145, or the application 147). Furthermore, the kernel 141 mayprovide an interface by which the middleware 143, the API 145, or theapplication 147 may access the individual elements of the electronicdevice 101 to control or manage system resources.

The middleware 143 may, for example, serve as an intermediary thatallows the API 145 or the application 147 to communicate with the kernel141 to transmit/receive data. Furthermore, in regard to task requestsreceived from the application 147, the middleware 143 may perform acontrol (e.g., scheduling or load balancing) on the task requests using,for example, a method of assigning a priority for using the systemresources (e.g., the bus 110, the processor 120, or the memory 130) ofthe electronic device 101 to at least one application 147.

The API 145 is, for example, an interface by which the application 147controls functions provided by the kernel 141 or the middleware 143, andmay include, for example, at least one interface or function (e.g., acommand) for file control, window control, image processing, or textcontrol.

The input/output interface 150 may, for example, serve as an interfacethat can transfer commands or data input from a user or another externaldevice to the other element(s) of the electronic device 101.Furthermore, the input/output interface 150 may output commands or datareceived from the other element(s) of the electronic device 101 to theuser or the other external device.

The display 160 may include, for example, a liquid crystal display(LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic light emittingdiode (OLED) display, a micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) display,or an electronic paper display. The display 160 may, for example,display various types of content (e.g., text, images, videos, icons, orsymbols) to a user. The display 160 may include a touch screen, and mayreceive, for example, a touch input, a gesture input, a proximity input,or a hovering input using an electronic pen or a part of a user's body.

The communication interface 170 may, for example, establishcommunication between the electronic device 101 and an external device(e.g., a first external electronic device 102, a second externalelectronic device 104, or a server 106). For example, the communicationinterface 170 may be connected to a network 162 through wireless orwired communication to communicate with the second external electronicdevice 104 or the server 106.

The wireless communication may use, for example, at least one of longterm evolution (LTE), LTE advanced (LTE-A), code division multipleaccess (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), universal mobiletelecommunications system (UMTS), wireless broadband (WiBro), and globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM), for example, as a cellularcommunication protocol. The wired communication may include, forexample, at least one of a universal serial bus (USB), a high definitionmultimedia interface (HDMI), recommended standard 232 (RS-232), and aplain old telephone service (POTS). The network 162 may include acommunication network, for example, at least one of a computer network(e.g., a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN)), theinternet, and a telephone network.

Each of the first external electronic device 102 and the second externalelectronic device 104 may be the same as or different from theelectronic device 101. According to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the server 106 may include a group of one or more servers.According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, all or some of theoperations executed by the electronic device 101 may be executed byanother electronic device or a plurality of electronic devices (e.g.,the first external electronic device 102, the second external electronicdevice 104, or the server 106). According to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, when the electronic device 101 must perform afunction or service automatically or in response to a request, theelectronic device 101 may request the first external electronic device102, the second external electronic device 104, or the server 106 toperform at least one function relating to the at least one function orservice, instead of or in addition to performing the at least onefunction or service itself. The first external electronic device 102,the second external electronic device 104, or the server 106 may performthe requested function or an additional function and transfer the resultto the electronic device 101. The electronic device 101 may provide therequested function or service by processing the received result as is orin addition to the result. To accomplish this, for example, cloudcomputing, distributed computing, or a client-server computing methodmay be used.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electronic device 201 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, the electronic device 201 may include, for example,all or a part of the electronic device 101 illustrated in FIG. 1. Theelectronic device 201 may include at least one AP 210, a communicationmodule 220, a subscriber identification module (SIM) card 224, a memory230, a sensor module 240, an input device 250, a display 260, aninterface 270, an audio module 280, a camera module 291, a powermanagement module 295, a battery 296, an indicator 297, and a motor 298.

The AP 210 may, for example, control a plurality of hardware or softwareelements connected thereto and perform a variety of data processing andcalculations by driving an operating system or application programs. TheAP 210 may be implemented as, for example, a system on chip (SoC).According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the AP 210 mayfurther include a graphics processing unit (GPU) and/or an image signalprocessor. The AP 210 may include at least some of the elements (e.g., acellular module 221) illustrated in FIG. 2. The AP 210 may load commandsor data, received from at least one other element (e.g., a non-volatilememory), in a volatile memory to process the loaded commands or data,and may store various types of data in the non-volatile memory.

The communication module 220 may be configured the same as or similar tothat of the communication interface 170 of FIG. 1. The communicationmodule 220 may include, for example, the cellular module 221, a wirelessfidelity (Wi-Fi) module 223, a Bluetooth (BT) module 225, a GPS module227, a near field communication (NFC) module 228, and a radio frequency(RF) module 229. The communication module 220 provides a function oftransmitting/receiving a signal. Accordingly, the communication module220 may be referred to as a “receiver,” a “transmitter,” a “transmissionand reception unit,” a “communication unit,” or the like.

The cellular module 221 may provide, for example, a voice call, a videocall, a text message service, or an interne service through acommunication network. According to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the cellular module 221 may distinguish and authenticate theelectronic device 201 in the communication network by using the SIM card224. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cellularmodule 221 may perform at least some of the functions that the AP 210may provide. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, thecellular module 221 may include a CP.

The Wi-Fi module 223, the BT module 225, the GPS module 227, or the NFCmodule 228 may include, for example, a processor for processing datatransmitted/received through the corresponding module. According to anembodiment of the present disclosure, at least some (e.g., two or more)of the cellular module 221, the Wi-Fi module 223, the BT module 225, theGPS module 227, and the NFC module 228 may be included in a singleintegrated circuit (IC) or IC package.

The RF module 229 may, for example, transmit/receive a communicationsignal (e.g., an RF signal). The RF module 229 may include, for example,a transceiver, a power amplifier module (PAM), a frequency filter, a lownoise amplifier (LNA), or an antenna. According to another embodiment ofthe present disclosure, at least one of the cellular module 221, theWi-Fi module 223, the BT module 225, the GPS module 227, and the NFCmodule 228 may transmit/receive an RF signal through a separate RFmodule.

The SIM card 224 may include, for example, an embedded SIM, and mayfurther include unique identification information (e.g., an integratedcircuit card identifier (ICCID)) or subscriber information (e.g., aninternational mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)).

The memory 230 may include, for example, an internal memory 232 or anexternal memory 234. The internal memory 232 may include, for example,at least one of a volatile memory (e.g., a dynamic random access memory(DRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), or thelike) and a non-volatile memory (e.g., a one-time programmable read onlymemory (OTPROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable and programmableROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), amask ROM, a flash ROM, a flash memory (e.g., a NAND flash memory or aNOR flash memory), a hard disc drive, or a solid state drive (SSD)).

The external memory 234 may further include a flash drive, for example,a compact flash (CF) drive, a secure digital (SD) memory card, a microsecure digital (Micro-SD) memory card, a mini secure digital (Mini-SD)memory card, an extreme digital (xD) memory card, a memory stick, or thelike. The external memory 234 may be functionally and/or physicallyconnected to the electronic device 201 through various interfaces.

The sensor module 240 may, for example, measure a physical quantity ordetect an operating state of the electronic device 201, and may convertthe measured or detected information into an electrical signal. Thesensor module 240 may include, for example, at least one of, a gesturesensor 240A, a gyro sensor 240B, an atmospheric pressure sensor 240C, amagnetic sensor 240D, an acceleration sensor 240E, a grip sensor 240F, aproximity sensor 240G, a color sensor 240H (e.g., a red, green, and blue(RGB) sensor), a biometric sensor 240I, a temperature/humidity sensor240J, an illumination sensor 240K, and a ultra violet (UV) light sensor240M. Additionally or alternatively, the sensor module 240 may includean electronic nose (E-nose) sensor, an electromyography (EMG) sensor, anelectroencephalogram (EEG) sensor, an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, aninfrared (IR) sensor, an iris sensor, and/or a fingerprint sensor. Thesensor module 240 may further include a control circuit for controllingone or more sensors included therein. In an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the electronic device 201 may further include a processorthat is configured as a part of the AP 210 or a separate element fromthe AP 210 in order to control the sensor module 240, therebycontrolling the sensor module 240 while the AP 210 is in a reduced poweror sleep state.

The input device 250 may include, for example, a touch panel 252, a(digital) pen sensor 254, a key 256, or an ultrasonic input device 258.The touch panel 252 may include at least one of, for example, acapacitive type, a resistive type, an infrared type, and an ultrasonictype. In addition, the touch panel 252 may further include a controlcircuit. The touch panel 252 may further include a tactile layer toprovide a tactile reaction to a user.

The (digital) pen sensor 254 may be, for example, a part of the touchpanel 252, or may include a separate recognition sheet. The key 256 mayinclude, for example, a physical button, an optical key, or a keypad.The ultrasonic input device 258 may identify data by detecting acousticwaves with a microphone (e.g., a microphone 288) of the electronicdevice 201 through an input unit for generating an ultrasonic signal.

The display 260 (e.g., the display 160 of FIG. 1) may include a panel262, a hologram device 264, or a projector 266. The panel 262 may beconfigured the same as or similar to that of the display 160 of FIG. 1.The panel 262 may be implemented to be, for example, flexible,transparent, or wearable. The panel 262 may be configured as a singlemodule integrated with the touch panel 252. The hologram device 264 mayshow a stereoscopic image in the air using the interference of light.The projector 266 may project light onto a screen to display an image.The screen may be located, for example, internal or external to theelectronic device 201. According to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the display 260 may further include a control circuit forcontrolling the panel 262, the hologram device 264, or the projector266.

The interface 270 may include, for example, a high-definition multimediainterface (HDMI) 272, a universal serial bus (USB) 274, an opticalinterface 276, or a D-subminiature (D-sub) connector 278. The interface270 may be included in, for example, the communication interface 170illustrated in FIG. 1. Additionally or alternatively, the interface 270may include, for example, a mobile high-definition link (MHL) interface,a secure digital (SD) memory card/multi-media card (MMC) interface, oran Infrared Data Association (IrDA) standard interface.

The audio module 280 may, for example, convert a sound into anelectrical signal, and vice versa. At least some elements of the audiomodule 280 may be included in, for example, the input/output interface150 illustrated in FIG. 1. The audio module 280 may, for example,process sound information that is input or output through a speaker 282,a receiver 284, an earphone 286, the microphone 288, or the like.

The camera module 291 may be, for example, a device that can take astill image or a moving image, and according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the camera module 291 may include one or more imagesensors (e.g., a front sensor or a rear sensor), a lens, an image signalprocessor (ISP), or a flash (e.g., an LED or a xenon lamp).

The power management module 295 may, for example, manage power of theelectronic device 201. According to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the power management module 295 may include a powermanagement integrated circuit (PMIC), a charger integrated circuit (IC),or a battery gauge. The PMIC may include a wired and/or a wirelesscharging method. A wireless charging method may include, for example, amagnetic resonance method, a magnetic induction method, anelectromagnetic method, and the like. Additional circuits (e.g., a coilloop, a resonance circuit, a rectifier, etc.) for wireless charging maybe further included. The battery gauge may measure, for example, aresidual quantity of the battery 296, and a voltage, a current, or atemperature while charging. The battery 296 may include, for example, arechargeable battery and/or a solar battery.

The indicator 297 may indicate a certain state of the electronic device201 or a part thereof (e.g., the AP 210), for example, a booting state,a message state, a charging state, or the like. The motor 298 mayconvert an electrical signal into a mechanical vibration, and maygenerate a vibration or haptic effect. The electronic device 201 mayinclude a processing unit (e.g., a GPU) for mobile TV support. Theprocessing device for mobile TV support may, for example, process mediadata according to a standard of digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB),digital video broadcasting (DVB), media flow, or the like.

Each of the components of the electronic device 201 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented by one or morecomponents and the name of the corresponding component may varydepending on a type of the electronic device 201. In an embodiment ofthe present disclosure, the electronic device 201 may include at leastone of the above-described elements. Some of the above-describedelements may be omitted from the electronic device 201, or theelectronic device 201 may further include additional elements. Further,some of the elements of the electronic device 201 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may be coupled to form a singleentity while performing the same functions as those of the correspondingelements before coupling.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a program module 310 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3, the program module 310 (e.g., the program 140 ofFIG. 1) may include an OS that controls resources relating to theelectronic device 101 of FIG. 1 and/or the application 147 of FIG. 1executed in the OS. The OS may be, for example, Android, iOS, Windows®,Symbian, Tizen™, Bada, or the like.

The programming module 310 may include a kernel 320, middleware 330, anAPI 360, and/or at least one application 370. At least some of theprogram module 310 may be preloaded in the electronic device, or may bedownloaded from a server (e.g., the server 106).

The kernel 320 (e.g., the kernel 141 of FIG. 1) may include, forexample, a system resource manager 321 or a device driver 323. Thesystem resource manager 321 may control, allocate, or collect systemresources. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, thesystem resource manager 321 may include a process management unit, amemory management unit, or a file system management unit. The devicedriver 323 may include, for example, a display driver, a camera driver,a Bluetooth driver, a shared-memory driver, a USB driver, a keypaddriver, a Wi-Fi driver, an audio driver, or an inter-processcommunication (IPC) driver.

The middleware 330 may provide a function required by the application370, or may provide various functions to the application 370 through theAPI 360 to enable the application 370 to efficiently use limited systemresources in the electronic device. According to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the middleware 330 (e.g., the middleware 143 inFIG. 1) may include at least one of a run time library 335, anapplication manager 341, a window manager 342, a multimedia manager 343,a resource manager 344, a power manager 345, a database manager 346, apackage manager 347, a connectivity manager 348, a notification manager349, a location manager 350, a graphic manager 351, and a securitymanager 352.

The runtime library 335 may include, for example, a library module usedby a complier in order to add a new function through a programminglanguage during the execution of the application 370. The run timelibrary 335 may perform input/output management, memory management, or afunction for an arithmetic function.

The application manager 341 may manage, for example, a life cycle of atleast one of the applications of the application 370. The window manager342 may manage graphical user interface (GUI) resources used by ascreen. The multimedia manager 343 may identify a format required forreproducing various media files, and may encode or decode a media fileusing a coder/decoder (codec) suitable for the corresponding format. Theresource manager 344 may manage resources of at least one of theapplications of the application 370, such as source code, memory,storage space, and the like.

The power manager 345 may operate with, for example, a basicinput/output system (BIOS) to manage a battery or power and providepower information required for an operation of the electronic device.The database manager 346 may generate, search, or change a database tobe used by at least one of the applications of the application 370. Thepackage manager 347 may manage an installation or an update of anapplication distributed in the format of a package file.

The connectivity manager 348 may manage, for example, a wirelessconnection, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The notification manager 349 maydisplay, or notify of, an event, such as a received message, anappointment, and a proximity notification, in such a manner as to notdisturb a user. The location manager 350 may manage location informationof the electronic device. The graphic manager 351 may manage a graphiceffect to be provided to a user, or a user interface related thereto.The security manager 352 may provide all security functions required forsystem security or user authentication. According to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure, in cases where the electronic device 101 in FIG.1 has a telephone call function, the middleware 330 may further includea telephony manager for managing a voice or video call function of theelectronic device.

The middleware 330 may include a middleware module that formscombinations of various functions of the aforementioned elements. Themiddleware 330 may provide specialized modules according to the types ofoperating systems in order to provide differentiated functions. Inaddition, the middleware 330 may dynamically delete some of the existingelements, or may add new elements.

The API 360 (e.g., the API 145 in FIG. 1) may be, for example, a set ofAPI programming functions, and may be provided with differentconfigurations according to different operating systems. For example, inthe case of Android or iOS platforms, an API set may be provided foreach platform, and in the case of Tizen™, two or more API sets may beprovided for each platform.

The application 370 (e.g., the application 147 in FIG. 1) may include,for example, one or more applications that can provide functions, suchas a home application 371, a dialer application 372, an SMS/MMSapplication 373, an instant messaging (IM) application 374, a browserapplication 375, a camera application 376, an alarm application 377, acontact application 378, a voice dialer application 379, an electronicmail (e-mail) application 380, a calendar application 381, a mediaplayer application 382, an album application 383, a clock application384, a health care application (e.g., a application to measure aquantity of exercise or a blood sugar level), or an environmentalinformation application (e.g., an application for providing atmosphericpressure, humidity, or temperature information).

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the application370 may include an application (hereinafter, an “information exchangeapplication”) that supports information exchange between the electronicdevice 101 in FIG. 1 and the external electronic devices 102 and 104 inFIG. 1. The information exchange application may include, for example, anotification relay application for transmitting certain information toan external electronic device, or a device management application formanaging an external electronic device.

For example, the notification relay application may include a functionfor transferring, to the external electronic device 102 or the externalelectronic device 104 of FIG. 1, notification information generated fromother applications of the electronic device (e.g., an SMS/MMSapplication, an e-mail application, a health management application, oran environmental information application). Furthermore, the notificationrelay application may, for example, receive notification informationfrom an external electronic device and provide the received notificationinformation to a user. The device management application may, forexample, manage (e.g., install, delete, or update) at least one functionof the electronic device 104 of FIG. 1 communicating with the electronicdevice (for example, a function of turning on/off the externalelectronic device (or some elements thereof), or a function of adjustingluminance (or a resolution) of the display), applications operating inthe external electronic device, or services provided by the externalelectronic device (e.g., a telephone call service or a message service).

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the application370 may include an application (e.g., a health care application)specified according to attributes (e.g., attributes of the electronicdevice such as the type of electronic device which corresponds to amobile medical device) of the external electronic device 102 or 104 ofFIG. 1. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, theapplication 370 may include an application received from the server 106or the external electronic devices 102 or 104 in FIG. 1. According to anembodiment of the present disclosure, the application 370 may include apreloaded application or a third party application that can bedownloaded from a server. The names of the elements of the programmodule 310, according to embodiment of the present disclosure, may varyaccording to the type of operating system.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least a part ofthe programming module 310 may be implemented in software, firmware,hardware, or a combination of two or more thereof. At least some of theprogramming module 310 may be implemented (for example, executed) by,for example, a processor (for example, the AP 210 in FIG. 2). At leastsome of the programming module 310 may include, for example, a module, aprogram, a routine, sets of instructions, a process, or the like forperforming one or more functions.

The term “module” as used herein may, for example, indicate a unitincluding one of hardware, software, and firmware or a combination oftwo or more thereof. The term “module” may be interchangeably used with,for example, the terms “unit,” “logic,” “logical block,” “component,” or“circuit.” The term “module” may indicate a minimum unit of anintegrated component element or a part thereof. The term “module” mayindicate a minimum unit for performing one or more functions or a partthereof. The term “module” may indicate an entity that is mechanicallyor electronically implemented. For example, the term “module” accordingto the present disclosure may include at least one of an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array(FPGA), and a programmable-logic device for performing operations whichare known or will be developed.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least some ofthe devices (for example, modules or functions thereof) or the method(for example, operations) according to the present disclosure may beimplemented by a command stored in a non-transitory computer-readablerecording medium in a programming module form. The instruction, whenexecuted by a processor (e.g., the processor 120 in FIG. 1), may causeone or more processors to execute the function corresponding to theinstruction. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium maybe, for example, the memory 220 in FIG. 2.

The non-transitory computer readable recoding medium may include a harddisk, a floppy disk, magnetic media (e.g., a magnetic tape), opticalmedia (e.g., a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM) and a DVD),magneto-optical media (e.g., a floptical disk), a hardware device (e.g.,a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory), and the like. In addition, the programinstructions may include high level language codes, which can beexecuted in a computer by using an interpreter, as well as machine codegenerated by a compiler. Any of the hardware devices described above maybe configured as one or more software modules in order to perform theoperations according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, andvice versa.

Any of the modules or programming modules according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure may include at least one of the above describedelements, exclude some of the elements, or further include otherelements. The operations performed by the modules, programming module,or other elements according to an embodiment of the present disclosuremay be executed in a sequential, parallel, repetitive, or heuristicmanner. Further, some operations may be executed according to anotherorder or may be omitted, or other operations may be added.

An electronic device, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, may transmit or receive proximity service data using aproximity service. In this case, the proximity service data isadvertisement content, and may include images, audio, videos, and thelike. A proximity service indicates a service provided throughcommunication between devices within a short range of each other usinglow power. In this case, “low power” indicates a power less than orequal to a predetermined threshold value, and “short range” indicates adistance less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value.

Furthermore, the proximity service data, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure, is transmitted without association. In otherwords, the proximity service data may be transmitted based onnon-association. In this case, transmitting the proximity service datawithout association indicates transmitting/receiving data only through aprocedure of acquiring physical synchronization between a device fortransmitting the proximity service data and a device for receiving theproximity service data and identifying the presence thereof, without aprocedure of configuring a logical association between the devices. Forexample, in the case of a wireless LAN system (e.g., Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 802.11), theproximity service data may be transmitted and received withoutperforming a registration procedure and an association procedure.

The proximity service is provided by a discovery based network. Thediscovery based network may be configured by periodically transmitting,by one transmitting device, a signal for which a receiver is notspecified. In this case, the periodically transmitted signal announcesthe presence of the network or the transmitting device, and may bereferred to as a “beacon.” Namely, in an embodiment of the presentdisclosure which is described below, proximity service data may betransmitted through a network that periodically transmits anon-directional signal for which a receiver is not indicated.

Although the terms “station” (STA), “access point” (AP), “requestingSTA,” “responding STA,” “neighbor awareness networking” (NAN) device,“device,” “broadcasting device,” “service providing device,” “proximityservice data providing device,” “transmitting device,” “receivingdevice,” and the like are hereinafter used for convenience ofdescription, the listed terms are employed for distinguishing betweenelectronic devices according to roles thereof. However, the presentdisclosure is not limited to the listed terms, and any type ofelectronic device may operate according to a procedure which isdescribed below.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a methodof providing a proximity service based on the IEEE 802.11u standard fordiscovering external network information of an AR The IEEE 802.11ustandard allows network discovery with an external network without anassociation with an AP.

Referring to FIG. 4, in operation 401, a requesting STA 410 may transmita generic advertisement service (GAS) initial request to a respondingSTA 420. The GAS initial request may be an action frame defined in theIEEE 802.11u standard. For example, the GAS initial request may includea category, an action, a dialog token, an advertisement protocolelement, a query request length, a query request, and the like. In thecase where there is a plurality of action requests, the dialog token maybe used to match the action requests with action responses. Theadvertisement protocol element may include information on anadvertisement protocol that the requesting STA 410 wants to configuretogether with the responding STA 420, and the query request may includeinformation on a service that the requesting STA 410 requests throughthe GAS initial request.

In operation 403, the responding STA 420 may transmit a query request toan advertisement server 430. The query request requests proximityservice data for an advertisement service required by the GAS initialrequest, namely, advertisement data. In operation 405, the advertisementserver 430 may transmit a query response that includes proximity servicedata for advertisement. The query response may include the proximityservice data for the advertisement service required by the GAS initialrequest, namely, the advertisement data.

In operation 407, the responding STA 420 may transmit a GAS initialresponse to the requesting STA 410. The GAS initial response may furtherinclude at least one of a status code and a comeback delay in additionto the information included in the GAS initial request. The informationincluded in Table 1 below is an example, and some information may beadded or deleted if it does not depart from the scope and spirit of thepresent disclosure.

TABLE 1 (1) A category may include frame category information of a GASinitial response frame. For example, the GAS initial response frame maybe included in a public action frame. (2) An action may be used as anindicator for specifying the GAS initial response frame among the publicaction frame. (3) A dialog token is information used to match aplurality of action requests and action responses. A dialog token of aGAS initial request frame 410 may be copied and used. The status codeindicates whether a response to the GAS initial request has succeeded orfailed.

The responding STA 420 may be an AP in the method illustrated in FIG. 4.The GAS initial request and the GAS initial response may be transmittedbetween the requesting STA 410 and the responding STA 420 withoutassociation therebetween. In other words, the GAS initial request andthe GAS initial response may be transmitted in a pre-association state.The procedure of performing the network discovery for the externaladvertisement server through the GAS initial request/response,illustrated in FIG. 4, may be referred to as an access network queryprotocol (ANQP).

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is anexample of a method of providing a proximity service based on the IEEE802.11u standard for discovering external network information of an ARThe IEEE 802.11u standard allows network discovery with an externalnetwork without association with an AP.

Referring to FIG. 5, in operation 501, a requesting STA 510 may transmita GAS initial request to a responding STA 520. That is, the requestingSTA 510 queries the responding STA 520 about ANQP information. Inoperation 503, the responding STA 520 may transmit a query request to anadvertisement server 530. In this case, the response of theadvertisement server 530 is delayed. Accordingly, in operation 505, theresponding STA 520 may transmit a GAS initial response includingcomeback delay information to the requesting STA 510. The comeback delayinformation represents a delay time until a GAS comeback request isreceived from the requesting STA 510 by the responding STA 520 after theresponding STA 520 transmits the GAS initial response. In contrast toFIG. 5, in the case where an ANQP query value for the query request islarge, that is, in the case where the size of data to be received inresponse to the query request is greater than a predetermined level sothat the data cannot be received through a single query response, theGAS initial response may include the comeback delay.

Thereafter, in operation 507, the advertisement server 530 may transmita query response including proximity service data for advertisement tothe responding STA 520. After the GAS initial response is received andthe comeback delay lapses, the requesting STA 510 may transmit a GAScomeback request to the responding STA 520 in operation 509.Accordingly, in operation 511, the responding STA 520 may transmit a GAScomeback response to the requesting STA 510. The GAS comeback responseincludes ANQP information, that is, proximity service data provided fromthe advertising server 530. Thereafter, operations of transmitting theGAS comeback request and the GAS comeback response may be repeatedlyperformed. The repeatedly performed operations of transmitting the GAScomeback request and the GAS comeback response may be omitted.

The responding STA 520 may be an AP in the method illustrated in FIG. 5.The GAS initial request and the GAS initial response may be transmittedbetween the requesting STA 510 and the responding STA 520 withoutassociation therebetween. In other words, the GAS initial request andthe GAS initial response may be transmitted in a pre-association state.

In the method illustrated in FIG. 5, the operations 503 and 507indicated by dashed lines are signaling between the responding STA 520and the advertisement server 530. In this case, the operations 503 and507 are not directly associated with a proximity service, and may bemodified in various ways.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is anexample of a method of providing a proximity service based on the IEEE802.11u standard for discovering external network information of an ARThe IEEE 802.11u standard allows network discovery with an externalnetwork without association with an AP.

Referring to FIG. 6, in operation 601, an STA 610 may receive a beacontransmitted by an AP 620. The beacon is a signal for announcing thepresence of the AP 620. The beacon may include information indicatingthat an advertisement service is enabled.

In operation 603, the STA 610 may transmit a probe request to the AP620. The probe request is a signal transmitted in order to scan an AP inthe relevant channel. The probe request may be transmitted to a certainAP, or may be broadcast to a plurality of APs.

In operation 605, the AP 620 may transmit a probe response to the STA610. The probe response is a response signal corresponding to theassociated probe request. The probe response may include information onthe AP 620, and may include information indicating that an advertisementservice is enabled.

In operation 607, the STA 610 may transmit a GAS initial request to theAP 620. That is, the STA 610 queries the AP 620 about information of anexternal network. The GAS initial request may be a signal according toan ANQP protocol. In this case, the GAS initial request is transmittedafter the STA 610 receives the probe response from the AP 620. In otherwords, the GAS initial request is transmitted in a pre-associationstate.

In operation 609, the AP 620 may transmit an advertisement servicerequest to the advertisement server 630. That is, the AP 620 requestsproximity service data for advertisement from the advertisement server630 according to a query of the STA 610.

In operation 611, the advertisement server 630 may transmit anadvertisement service response to the AP 620. The advertisement serviceresponse includes the proximity service data for advertisement. Forexample, the proximity service data may include at least one of animage, audio, a video, and text.

In operation 613, the AP 620 may transmit a GAS response to the STA 610.The GAS response includes the proximity service data provided from theadvertisement server 630.

The method illustrated in FIG. 6 has been described as being performedbefore the association between the STA 610 and the AP 620. However,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the methodillustrated in FIG. 6, for example, the operations 607 to 613 may beperformed in a post-association state.

The above described proximity service may be provided through variouscommunication standards, such as Bluetooth low energy (BLE), near fieldcommunication (NFC), Wi-Fi, Zigbee, or the like, in addition to the IEEE802.11u standard illustrated in FIG. 6. For example, the proximityservice, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, may beprovided by the low power NAN discovery method, which is being developedunder the Wi-Fi standard. The NAN is a low power discovery method basedon the Wi-Fi method, which exchanges information through a clusterillustrated in FIG. 7, which is described below.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a cluster configuration for a proximity serviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, NAN devices 710-1, 710-2, 710-3, and 710-4constitute a single cluster. The NAN devices 710-1, 710-2, 710-3, and710-4 are synchronized, and may transmit/receive a beacon and servicediscovery frame in a synchronized discovery window. In a period otherthan a discovery window (DW), the NAN devices 710-1, 710-2, 710-3, and710-4 may be maintained in a sleep state, thereby maintaining adiscovery state with low power, where a service and information may beexchanged between adjacent devices. The NAN devices 710-1, 710-2, 710-3,and 710-4 using the DW may operate as illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9,which are described below.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8, in operation 801, among devices in a cluster, anNAN device 710-1, 710-2, 710-3, or 710-4 functioning as a mastertransmits NAN discovery beacons. In FIG. 8, the NAN discovery beaconsare transmitted in channel 6. Thereafter, a DW starts, and in operation803, the NAN devices 710-1, 710-2, 710-3, and 710-4 in the clustercompete to transmit NAN synchronization or “sync” beacons. Then, inoperation 805, the NAN devices 710-1, 710-2, 710-3, and 710-4 compete totransmit NAN service discovery frames. The NAN sync beacons and the NANservice discovery frames may be transmitted by another synchronized NANdevice 710-1, 710-2, 710-3, or 710-4 as well as the NAN device 710-1,710-2, 710-3, or 710-4 functioning as the master. Then, the DW ends. Inoperation 807, the NAN device 710-1, 710-2, 710-3, or 710-4 functioningas the master transmits NAN discovery beacons again. Thereafter, a DWstarts, and in operation 809, the NAN devices 710-1, 710-2, 710-3, and710-4 compete to transmit NAN sync beacons. Then, in operation 811, theNAN devices 710-1, 710-2, 710-3, and 710-4 compete to transmit NANservice discovery frames. Then, the DW ends. Thereafter, similar methodsmay be repeated. For example, in operation 813, the NAN device 710-1,710-2, 710-3, or 710-4 functioning as the master may transmit NANdiscovery beacons.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to yet an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, a device 910-1 may transmit a beacon and servicediscovery frame in a DW. Accordingly, devices 910-2 and 910-3 mayreceive the beacon and service discovery frame transmitted by the device910-1.

Proximity service data (e.g., advertisement) transmitted through aproximity service, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure,may be distinguished into first proximity service data and secondproximity service data. For example, the features of the first andsecond proximity service data are listed in Table 2 below.

TABLE 2 First proximity Second proximity service data service datavenue, identifier (ID) and short information, high capacity of serviceID and short information, short message, audio, video, image image, URL,etc. transmitted transmit through short-range communication according toservice discovery method (e.g., Wi-Fi (scan, 802.11u. data guideinformation NAN, P2P, IBSS), BT (BLE), Zigbee, NFC, etc.) of firstproximity information relating to first proximity service data servicedata including multimedia data such as audio, image, device to transmitlong message, etc. first proximity service association formation guideinformation data and device to characteristic (e.g., designateassociation method, transmit second association method, security, etc.)for second proximity service data proximity service data transmissionmay be identical to or channel, transmission start time, transmissionend different from each time, transmission cycle, transmission period,other transmitting device information, transmission data description,transmission communication, reception condition (e.g., reception rangeusing reception signal strength, etc.) identification information oftarget devices to receive second proximity service data boundaryinformation of region to receive second proximity service data guideinformation can be separately specified according to types of proximitydata data transmission period and association formation period can beseparately specified

As listed in Table 2 above, the first and second proximity service datainclude advertisement content. Further, the second proximity servicedata includes a higher capacity of data than the first proximity servicedata. For example, the first proximity service data includes informationnecessary for receiving the second proximity service data. In otherwords, the first proximity service data includes information thatfacilitates reception of the second proximity service data (hereinafter“guide information”). In this case, the second proximity service dataincludes a higher capacity or a higher quality of data than the firstproximity service data.

A proximity service data transmitting device, according to an embodimentof the present disclosure, may support various short-range communicationtechnologies that may be utilized in a proximity service, such as BLE,BT, Wi-Fi, NAN, IEEE 802.11u, NFC, Zigbee, etc. Furthermore, thetransmitting device, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, may transmit the first proximity service data fortransmitting a venue, an identifier (ID) and short information, aservice ID and short information, a device ID and short information,short text, an image, and a URL, and the second proximity service datafor transmitting a higher capacity of multimedia data and additionalservice data.

A description of the first proximity service data is provided below.

Based on various short-range communication technologies, the firstproximity service data may include at least one of a venue ID andrelated information, a service ID and related information, a device IDand related information, a short text, an image, and a URL.

For example, the first proximity service data includes guide informationfor notifying of a method by which the second proximity service data maybe received. For example, in consideration of power efficiency of areceiving device, the guide information may include information fornotifying of a transmission period, a transmission start time, atransmission cycle, a transmission end time, a transmission channel, atransmission method (e.g., short-range communication such BT, Wi-Fi,NFC, Zigbee, etc.), a transmission identifier (ID), or a communicationID (e.g., a service set identification (SSID), a media access control(MAC) address, a service ID, a service protocol ID, aservice/device/group name, a certain positive integer value, etc.) forthe second proximity service data. Furthermore, the guide informationmay include data description information included in the secondproximity service data. For example, the description information mayinclude at least one of a data type (e.g., audio, video, image, etc.), adata capacity, and content related information.

In addition, the guide information may include information on a devicefor transmitting the second proximity service data (e.g., an MACaddress, a device name, a device ID, a transmitting device group ID, atransmitting device service ID, a service name, etc.). In this case, thesecond proximity service data may be transmitted by at least one ofunicasting, broadcasting, and multicasting, and information on a targetdevice that must receive the second proximity service data (e.g., adevice ID, a device name, an MAC address, an MAC address list, an IPaddress, an IP address list, etc.) may be included in service data guideinformation.

The guide information may be defined according to types of data includedin the second proximity service data. For example, different guideinformation may be provided in cases where different types of data areincluded.

A device for transmitting the second proximity service data may differfrom a device for transmitting the first proximity service data. In thiscase, the guide information may include information (e.g.,identification information, location information, etc.) on the devicefor transmitting the second proximity service data.

The second proximity service data may be encrypted. In this case, theguide information may include information on a connection for theacquisition of an encryption key in addition to a data transmissionperiod such that encryption acquisition through a connection with areceiving device may be performed.

Furthermore, the guide information may include information on areception condition for determining whether a receiving device forreceiving the second proximity service data receives the secondproximity service data. For example, a maximum distance and a minimumsignal strength for receiving the second proximity service data may beindicated as reception conditions in the guide information. In thiscase, only a device that is located within the maximum distance or hasthe minimum signal strength may receive the second proximity servicedata. This may ensure a reception quality for the second proximityservice data.

A description of the second proximity service data is provided below.

The second proximity service data may include a higher capacity ofmultimedia data than the first proximity service data. For example, thesecond proximity service data may include a high capacity of audio,video, image, etc. The second proximity service data is transmittedaccording to the guide information included in the first proximityservice data. In the case where information for acquiring an encryptionkey is included in the first proximity service data, a transmittingdevice broadcasts encrypted data using the corresponding key. A devicefor transmitting the second proximity service data may differ from adevice for transmitting the first proximity service data.

According to the above description, the first proximity service data andthe second proximity service data may be provided as illustrated inFIGS. 10, 11, and 13 to 16 which are described below.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is anexample of the case where first proximity service data is provided byNAN and second proximity service data is provided by Wi-Fi.

Referring to FIG. 10, the first proximity service data may be repeatedlytransmitted during a synchronized DW period according to NAN. Forexample, the first proximity service data may be transmitted through atleast one of a service discovery frame and a discovery beacon frame. Inthis case, the first proximity service data includes service data guideinformation 1060. For example, the service data guide information mayinclude information on a channel, a transmission start time, atransmission cycle, a transmission period, transmitting deviceinformation, a transmission data description, a transmissioncommunication method, etc. for the transfer of the second proximityservice data.

Accordingly, a receiving device for receiving the first proximityservice data may receive a signal for discovery that is transmitted by atransmitting device, synchronize with the transmitting device using thesignal, and then receive the first proximity service data through asynchronized DW. For example, the signal for discovery may be adiscovery beacon frame, and the first proximity service data may beincluded in a service discovery frame. In another example, the signalfor discovery may include the first proximity service data. In thiscase, the receiving device may receive the first proximity service datathrough the signal for discovery.

The second proximity service data may be transmitted according to Wi-Fi.The second proximity service data may include a plurality of types(e.g., type A and type B) of data. However, according to an embodimentof the present disclosure, the second proximity service data may includea single type of data. In this case, the transmission period of thesecond proximity service data may be allocated to a period other than aDW period according to the NAN method. That is, the second proximityservice data may be transmitted during a time interval that does notoverlap in time with the first proximity service data. Furthermore, thesecond proximity service data may be transmitted through a differentchannel than the first proximity service data.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 is anexample of the case where first proximity service data is provided byNAN and second proximity service data is provided by Wi-Fi.

Referring to FIG. 11, the first proximity service data may be repeatedlytransmitted during a synchronized DW period according to NAN. Forexample, the first proximity service data may be transmitted through atleast one of a service discovery frame and a discovery beacon frame. Inthis case, the first proximity service data includes service data guideinformation 1160. In accordance with the above described embodiments ofthe present disclosure, the service data guide information may includeinformation on a channel, a transmission start time, a transmissioncycle, a transmission period, a transmission end time, a transmittingdevice information, a transmission data description, a transmissioncommunication method, etc. for the transfer of the second proximityservice data. However, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the service data guide information may include only thetransmission start time and the transmission end time.

The transmission start time and the transmission end time may berepresented by at least one of an absolute time, a relative time, and aDW identification number. For example, the transmission start time andthe transmission end time may be indicated as an accurate time based ona synchronized DW, or may be indicated only with a DW number. In an NANnetwork, each DW has a number. For example, if a transmission start timeis indicated as DW 2, the transmission of the second proximity servicedata starts after the DW 2. In FIG. 11, the second proximity servicedata is transmitted in a period between DWs except for each DW. Further,in the case where a transmission end time is specified as DW 5, thesecond proximity service data is not transmitted after the fifth DW. Inthe above embodiment of the present disclosure, it is described that thetransmission of the second proximity service data starts or ends afterthe DW with an indicated number. However, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure, the transmission of the second proximity servicedata may start or end before the DW with an indicated number.

The second proximity service data may be transmitted according to Wi-Fi.The second proximity service data may be transmitted through unicasting,multicasting, or broadcasting. The second proximity service data mayinclude a plurality of types (e.g., type A and type B) of data. However,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the secondproximity service data may include a single type of data. In this case,the transmission period of the second proximity service data may beallocated to a period other than a DW period according to NAN. That is,the second proximity service data may be transmitted during a timeinterval that does not overlap in time with the first proximity servicedata. Furthermore, the second proximity service data may be transmittedthrough a different channel than the first proximity service data.

Transmission, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, isperformed without a separate connection process, and may include IPlayer transmission of each device. That is, the ID of a transmissiontarget may be indicated as an IP address. In FIG. 11, it is assumedthat, initially, each device has an IP address. Generally, in wirelesscommunication, an IP address may be allocated after a connection iscompleted. However, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, sincedata communication (e.g., IP layer communication, transmission controlprotocol (TCP)/IP communication, user datagram protocol (UDP)communication, etc.) is performed with no separate connection process,an IP address must be allocated in advance.

FIG. 12 is a diagram of a method of allocating an IP address through aproximity service according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 12 illustrates allocating an IP address without a separateconnection process between devices constituting a network.

Referring to FIG. 12, when synchronization is completed, devices 1210-1and 1210-2 synchronized in a certain cluster generate IP addresses in acertain band (e.g., class B/C). The IP addresses may be generatedaccording to a pre-defined rule. For example, the IP addresses may bedetermined based on a random number generation algorithm. Further, therespective devices 1210-1 and 1210-2 advertise or publish the IPaddresses through a DW. In FIG. 12, the device 1210-1 generates andannounces IP A, and the device 1210-2 generates and announces IP B. Inother words, the device 1210-1 broadcasts the IP A.

Since the IP addresses are generated by the respective devices, thesynchronized devices 1210-1 and 1210-2 may generate an identical IPaddress, namely, IP collision may occur. Accordingly, each of thedevices 1210-1 and 1210-2 detects whether an identical IP address ispublished by another device, namely, whether IP collision occurs. InFIG. 12, a device 1210-3 generates and announces the IP A, andaccordingly the device 1210-1 detects IP collision. Accordingly, thedevice 1210-1 having detected the IP collision transmits a messageannouncing that the IP addresses have collided through a DW. The messagemay include the colliding IP address. The device 1210-3 that receivedthe message generates and announces a different IP address. Through theabove described method, the devices 1210-1 to 1210-3 constituting theNAN may be allocated non-colliding IP addresses at the same time thatthe devices are synchronized.

FIG. 12 is an example of allocating an IP address. However, the methodillustrated in FIG. 12 may also be applied to the case of allocating adevice address (e.g., an MAC address or interface address) in adifferent layer or for a different purpose with the exception of the IPaddress.

FIG. 13 is a diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 13 is anexample of the case where first proximity service data and secondproximity service data are provided by NAN.

Referring to FIG. 13, the first proximity service data may be repeatedlytransmitted during a synchronized DW period according to NAN. Forexample, the first proximity service data may be transmitted through atleast one of a service discovery frame and a discovery beacon frame. Inthis case, the first proximity service data includes service data guideinformation 1360. For example, the service data guide information 1360may include information on a channel, a transmission start time, atransmission cycle, a transmission period, a transmission end time,transmitting device information, a transmission data description, atransmission communication method, etc. for the transfer of the secondproximity service data.

In addition, the service data guide information 1360 may further includeidentification information of a transmission target. For example, theidentification information of a transmission target may include at leastone of an MAC address of a target device, an NAN interface address, adevice ID of the target device, a device name, a target service ID, anda service name. In FIG. 13, device B 1310-2 and device C 1310-3 areindicated as the transmission target. Accordingly, the device B 1310-2and the device C 1310-3 receive the second proximity service data duringa transmission period indicated by the service data guide information1360. In contrast, device D 1310-4 that is not indicated as thetransmission target is not woken up from a sleep state and does notreceive data in the transmission period.

The second proximity service data may be transmitted through unicasting,multicasting, or broadcasting. For example, the transmitting device1310-1 may change a transmission scheme according to the number oftarget devices that will receive the second proximity service data. Inthe case where the number of target devices is less than or equal to apredefined threshold value, the second proximity service data may betransferred to each target device through unicasting. In contrast, inthe case where the number of target devices exceeds the predefinedthreshold value, the second proximity service data may be multicast orbroadcast.

The second proximity service data may be transmitted through a postoperation of the NAN standard. A post operation indicates an operationadditionally performed in a period other than a synchronized DW. In thiscase, all or some of the information items included in the service dataguide information 1360 may be included in scheduling information on thepost operation.

FIG. 14 is a diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 14 is anexample of the case where first proximity service data is provided byBLE and second proximity service data is provided by Wi-Fi.

Referring to FIG. 14, the first proximity service data may be repeatedlytransmitted by BLE. For example, the first proximity service data may betransmitted through a BLE beacon. The BLE beacon does not requiresynchronization, as opposed to the above described NAN. Accordingly, areceiving device may receive the first proximity service data byreceiving the BLE beacon without a synchronization procedure. In thiscase, the first proximity service data includes service data guideinformation 1460. For example, the service data guide information 1460may include information on a channel, a transmission start time, atransmission cycle, a transmission period, a transmission end time,transmitting device information, a transmission data description, atransmission communication method, a transmission target, etc. for thetransfer of the second proximity service data.

The second proximity service data may be transmitted according to Wi-Fi.The second proximity service data may include a plurality of types(e.g., type A and type B) of data. However, according to an embodimentof the present disclosure, the second proximity service data may includea single type of data. In this case, the transmission period of thesecond proximity service data may be allocated to a period other thanthe transmission period of the first proximity service data according toBLE. That is, the second proximity service data may be transmittedduring a time interval that does not overlap in time with the firstproximity service data. Furthermore, the second proximity service datamay be transmitted through a different channel than the first proximityservice data.

FIG. 15 is a diagram of a procedure of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 15 is anexample of the case where first proximity service data is provided byBLE and second proximity service data is provided by Wi-Fi.

Referring to FIG. 15, the first proximity service data may be repeatedlytransmitted by BLE. For example, the first proximity service data may betransmitted through a BLE beacon. The first proximity service dataincludes service data guide information 1560-1. For example, the servicedata guide information 1560-1 may include information on a channel, atransmission start time, a transmission cycle, a transmission period, atransmission end time, transmitting device information, a transmissiondata description, a transmission communication method, a transmissiontarget, etc. for the transfer of the second proximity service data.Alternatively, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, theservice data guide information 1560-1 may include only the transmissionstart time and the transmission end time of the second proximity servicedata.

In FIG. 15, device A 1510-1 transfers a transmission start time andinformation on a channel for transmission through the service data guideinformation 1560-1. For example, the service data guide information1560-1 may include information for notifying that the transmission ofthe second proximity service data starts. Then, device B 1510-2transmits the second proximity service data through a channel indicatedby the service data guide information 1560-1. That is, a transmissionperiod starts in the channel indicated by the service data guideinformation 1560-1. In this case, although the device B 1510-2 may startthe transmission through broadcasting, the device B 1510-2 may unicastthe second proximity service data to each of devices 1510-3 and 1510-4,or may multicast the second proximity service data to the devices 1510-3and 1510-4.

The devices 1510-3 and 1510-4 may perform a periodic BLE scan forreceiving the BLE beacon. BLE scan periods and timing of the devices1510-3 and 1510-4 may be different from each other. Accordingly, timepoints when the devices 1510-3 and 1510-4 that have received the BLEbeacon join the transmission period or communication period may differfrom each other. In other words, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the device A 1510-1 may periodically transmit a BLEbeacon for announcing the start of transmission, and the devices 1510-3and 1510-4 that received the BLE beacon at different timing may join aWi-Fi communication period for the reception of the second proximityservice data in the case where a reception condition is satisfied.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transmittingdevice B 1510-2 may determine which device has been joined. When thereceiving devices 1510-3 and 1510-4 join the transmission period, eachof the receiving devices 1510-3 and 1510-4 may announce their presencethrough a Wi-Fi beacon or a separate Wi-Fi message. In this case, eachof the receiving devices 1510-3 and 1510-4 may include a communicationID transmitted by the device A 1510-1 through the BLE beacon in theWi-Fi beacon or the separate message. Based on the communication ID, thetransmitting device B 1510-2 may determine whether the receiving devices1510-3 and 1510-4 are correct receiving devices.

Similarly to an embodiment of the present disclosure described above,the devices 1510-1 to 1510-4 which transmit data without a separateconnection process may retain previously allocated IP addresses. In thiscase, likewise to the communication ID, the IP addresses may betransmitted to the devices 1510-1 to 1510-4 through a certain message,such as a separate Wi-Fi message or an address resolution protocol. Thetransmitting device B 1510-2 may unicast, multicast, or broadcast thesecond proximity service data through the IP address identified asdescribed above.

In addition, when a transmission period ends, the device A 1510-1 maytransmit a BLE beacon for announcing the end of the transmission. Thatis, the service data guide information 1560-2 transmitted after the endof the transmission period may include information for announcing thatthe transmission of the second proximity service data is completed. Inthis case, the BLE beacon may not include information relating to thetransmission/reception of the second proximity service data.Accordingly, the devices 1510-3 and 1510-4 may recognize that thetransmission of the second proximity service data has been completed,and may stop monitoring the Wi-Fi channel. According to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure, the information for announcing that thetransmission of the second proximity service data has been completed maybe transmitted from the device B 1510-2 through a Wi-Fi connection.

The second proximity service data may be transmitted according to Wi-Fi.The second proximity service data may include a plurality of types(e.g., type A and type B) of data. However, according to an embodimentof the present disclosure, the second proximity service data may includea single type of data. In this case, the transmission period of thesecond proximity service data may be allocated to a period other thanthe transmission period of the first proximity service data according toBLE. That is, the second proximity service data may be transmittedduring a time interval that does not overlap in time with the firstproximity service data. Furthermore, the second proximity service datamay be transmitted through a different channel than the first proximityservice data.

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram of a procedure of providing proximity servicedata according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 16 is anexample of the case of using an advertisement system based on the IEEE802.11u standard.

Referring to FIG. 16, in operation 1601, a second transmitting device1610 may periodically transmit proximity service data. As secondproximity service data, the proximity service data may include at leastone type of data. The second transmitting device 1610 may include an APor a user equipment.

In operation 1603, a receiving device 1620 may receive a beacontransmitted by a first transmitting device 1630. The beacon is a signalfor announcing the presence of the first transmitting device 1603. Thebeacon may include information for notifying that an advertisementservice is enabled. As a device for transmitting first proximity servicedata, the first transmitting device 1630 may include an AP or a userequipment.

In operation 1605, the receiving device 1620 may transmit a proberequest to the first transmitting device 1630. The probe request is asignal transmitted in order to scan an AP in the relevant channel. Theprobe request may be transmitted to a certain AP, or may be broadcast toa plurality of APs.

In operation 1607, the first transmitting device 1630 may transmit aprobe response to the receiving device 1620. The probe response is aresponse signal to the probe request. The probe response may includeinformation on the first transmitting device 1630, and may includeinformation for notifying that an advertisement service is enabled.

In operation 1609, the receiving device 1620 may transmit a GAS requestto the first transmitting device 1630. That is, the receiving device1620 queries the first transmitting device 1630 about information of anexternal network. The GAS request may be a signal according to an ANQPprotocol. In this case, the GAS request is transmitted after thereceiving device 1620 receives the probe response from the firsttransmitting device 1630. In other words, the GAS request is transmittedin a pre-association state.

In operation 1611, the first transmitting device 1630 may transmit anadvertisement service request to an advertisement server 1640. That is,the first transmitting device 1630 requests proximity service data foradvertisement from the advertisement server 1640 according to a query ofthe receiving device 1620. The advertisement server 1640 may be a serverdevice connected to the internet network, an internal application, or astorage device.

In operation 1613, the second transmitting device 1610 may transmitadvertisement data, namely, second proximity service data. That is, thesecond transmitting device 1610 determines that a transmission periodhas come, and transmits the second proximity service data. Theadvertisement data may include at least one of audio advertisement data,audio and video advertisement data, and image advertisement data. Inthis case, since the receiving device 1620 does not receive guideinformation yet, the receiving device 1620 may not receive theadvertisement data transmitted by the second transmitting device 1610.

In operation 1615, the advertisement server 1640 may transmit anadvertisement service response to the first transmitting device 1630.The advertisement service response includes proximity service data foradvertisement. For example, the proximity service data may include firstproximity service data, and at least one of an image, audio, a video,and text. For example, according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the proximity service data includes advertisement data guideinformation for the second proximity service data. For example, theguide information may include at least one of a transmission start time,a transmission cycle, a transmission period, identification information(e.g., basic service set identification (BSSID)) of a transmittingdevice (e.g., the second transmitting device 1610), channel information,and a description of data for the second proximity service data.

In operation 1617, the first transmitting device 1630 may transmit a GASresponse to the receiving device 1620. The GAS response includesproximity service data provided from the advertisement server 1640,namely, the first proximity service data. For example, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure, the GAS response includesadvertisement data guide information.

In operation 1619, the receiving device 1620 may notify of advertisementdata. In other words, the receiving device 1620 outputs the firstproximity service data received from the first transmitting device 1630.In this case, the output may include at least one of a screen displayand an audio output. In this case, prior to the output, the receivingdevice 1620 may display a screen for asking a user whether to displayadvertisement, and may output the first proximity service data accordingto the user's approval.

In operation 1621, the receiving device 1620 may search for the secondtransmitting device 1610 and calculates a reception time ofadvertisement data transmitted by the second transmitting device 1610.That is, the receiving device 1620 prepares to receive the secondproximity service data transmitted by the second transmitting device1610 based on the advertisement data guide information. For example, thereceiving device 1620 may activate a module corresponding to acommunication method for transferring the second proximity service data,tune a channel frequency, and determine a reception time point.

In operation 1623, the second transmitting device 1610 may transmitadvertisement data, namely, second proximity service data. That is, thesecond transmitting device 1610 determines that a transmission periodhas come, and transmits the second proximity service data. In this case,the advertisement data is broadcast according to the advertisement dataguide information. Accordingly, the receiving device 1620 performs areception operation during a period determined according to theadvertisement data guide information. The advertisement data may includeat least one of audio advertisement data, audio and video advertisementdata, and image advertisement data. In this case, since the receivingdevice 1620 does not receive guide information yet, the receiving device1620 may not receive the advertisement data transmitted by the secondtransmitting device 1610.

In operation 1625, the receiving device 1620 may notify a user ofproximity service data, namely, the second proximity service data. Inother words, the receiving device 1620 outputs the second proximityservice data received from the second transmitting device 1610. In thiscase, the output may include at least one of screen display and audiooutput. In this case, prior to the output, the receiving device 1620 maydisplay a screen asking the user whether to display advertisement, andmay output the second proximity service data according to the user'sapproval.

FIG. 16 is described above based on the network configured in accordancewith the IEEE 802.11u standard. That is, an AP (e.g., the firsttransmitting device 1630) as a proxy for a GAS request/response exists,and a server (e.g., the advertisement server 1640) for storingadvertisement information exists. However, an embodiment of the presentdisclosure based on the IEEE 802.11u standard is not limited to aninfrastructure that is the same as or similar to that illustrated inFIG. 16. A user device serving as a mobile AP may exist, and an internalserver of the user device or a connected external terminal may functionas a server for storing the advertisement information. That is, thevarious embodiments of the present disclosure may also be applied to aninter-device advertisement system based on the IEEE 802.11u standard.

FIG. 17 is a diagram of a secure key exchange method for proximityservice data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG.17 is an example of the case where security is applied to secondproximity service data, namely, a case where the second proximityservice data is encrypted.

Referring to FIG. 17, first proximity service data transmitted by atransmitting device 1710-2 may include guide information for the secondproximity service data. The guide information may include informationfor a secure key exchange between the transmitting device 1710-2transmitting the second proximity service data and a receiving device1710-1 in addition to information necessary for receiving the secondproximity service data. For example, in the case where the key isexchanged based on a connection, the information for secure key exchangemay include information for a connection. Likewise to guide informationfor data transmission, the information for connection may indicate atleast one of a communication method for connection and a period forwhich a connection is made. That is, the transmitting device 1710-2 mayoperate in a period 1702 for secure key exchange and in a period 1704for data transmission, where the periods 1702 and 1704 may occupymutually exclusive resources.

The receiving device 1701 that has identified the period 1702 for securekey exchange and a connection method establishes a connection with thetransmitting device 1710-2 in the period 1702 for secure key exchange.For example, the connection may be made according to a method such as aWi-Fi protected setup of Wi-Fi. However, according to another embodimentof the present disclosure, the key may be exchanged based on noconnection. In this case, the operation of establishing the connectionmay be omitted. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure,the first proximity service data may include key information for theconnection, thereby sharing the key.

In the period 1702 for secure key exchange, the transmitting device1710-2 and the receiving device 1710-1 may synchronize a key forencrypting the second proximity service data based on a connection or noconnection. In the case where the key is exchanged based on aconnection, the key utilized in the connection may be used as anencryption key for transmitting the second proximity service data. Inthis case, after the secure key exchange is performed, the receivingdevice 1710-1 may not stand by in the rest of the period 1702 for asecure key exchange, and may perform a reception operation in the period1704 for data transmission.

FIG. 18 is a diagram of coverage of proximity service data according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 18, coverage of second proximity service data andcoverage of first proximity service data may differ from each other.That is, a transmitting device 1810-1 may use different transmissionpowers for the first proximity service data and the second proximityservice data. Accordingly, receiving devices 1810-2, 1810-3, 1810-4, and1810-5 may fail to receive the second proximity service data accordingto locations thereof.

That is, a presence or absence in coverage may be used as a conditionfor determining whether the receiving devices can receive the secondproximity service data. For example, the condition may include athreshold value for one of a received signal strength indicator (RSSI),a distance, a signal to noise ratio (SNR), a bit error rate, and a frameerror rate. In addition, the condition may include guide information forthe second proximity service data. That is, the receiving devices1810-2, 1810-3, 1810-4, and 1810-5 may determine the RSSI, the distance,and the like through a signal including the first proximity servicedata, and when a quality is greater than the condition specified in theguide information, the receiving devices may attempt to receive thesecond proximity service data in a period for data transmissionindicated in the guide information.

FIG. 19 is a diagram of an interaction between subjects that provideproximity service data according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 19 is an example of the case where first proximityservice data and second proximity service data are transmitted bydifferent devices.

Referring to FIG. 19, the first proximity service data is transmitted bydevice A 1910-1, and the second proximity service data is transmitted bydevice B 1910-2. The first proximity service data includes guideinformation for transmitting the second proximity service data. Theguide information may include information on the device B 1910-2functioning to transmit the second proximity service data. In this case,the device A 1910-1 transmitting the first proximity service data andthe device B 1910-2 transmitting the second proximity service datasynchronize the guide information for transmitting the second proximityservice data. The guide information may be synchronized by an operatoroffline, or may be synchronized by a procedure predefined between thedevice A 1910-1 and the device B 1910-2. For example, the predefinedprocedure may include an initial guide information determining step, anupdated guide information providing step, and the like. In this case,the guide information may be provided from the device A 1910-1 to thedevice B 1910-2, or vice versa. Alternatively, the guide information maybe determined by a request and identification between the device A1910-1 and the device B 1910-2.

The device A 1910-1 and the device B 1910-2 may be connected throughshort-range communication or an external net to communicate with eachother. For example, the external net may be an IP network, and thedevice A 1910-1 and the device B 1910-2 may be connected to each otherthrough a cloud service. The device A 1910-1 may have control authorityfor controlling the transmission of the device B 1910-2. That is, thedevice B 1910-2 may transmit the second proximity service data under thecontrol of the device A 1910-1.

The information on the device B 1910-2, which is included in the guideinformation, may include location information of the device B 1910-2.Accordingly, a receiving device may determine whether a plurality ofdevices that transmit the second proximity service data are distributedin a long range. In the case where a device transmitting the secondproximity service data is located in a long range, the receiving devicecan reduce power consumption by selectively activating a receptionfunction.

FIG. 20 is a diagram of subjects that provide proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 20 is anexample of the case where second proximity service data is transmittedby a plurality of devices.

Referring to FIG. 20, device A 2010-1, device B 2010-2, and device C2010-3 form a group. For example, the group may be formed based on Wi-Fidirect, independent basic service set (IBSS), mobile hotspot network,Bluetooth connection network, or the like.

The device A 2010-1 transmits first proximity service data, and thedevice B 2010-2 and the device C 2010-3 transmit second proximityservice data. In this case, the data transmitted by the device B 2010-2and the data transmitted by the device C 2010-3 may include differentcontent. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, thedevice A 2010-1 may transmit the first proximity service data, andsimultaneously transmit guide information for the second proximityservice data of the device B 2010-2 and guide information for the secondproximity service data of the device C 2010-3. The device A 2010-1, thedevice B 2010-2, and the device C 201-03 may synchronize the guideinformation for the second proximity service data through a connectionnetwork. Accordingly, the device B 2010-2 and the device C 2010-3 maytransmit the second proximity service data thereof according to theguide information transmitted by the device A 2010-1.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure described above,the first proximity service data includes the guide information for thesecond proximity service data. However, in the case where it isunnecessary to transmit the second proximity service data, the firstproximity service data may not include the guide information.Accordingly, a transmitting device may determine whether it is necessaryto transmit the second proximity service data, and if not, thetransmitting device may not transmit the guide information. An exampleof controlling the transmission of the second proximity service data andthe guide information is illustrated in FIG. 21, which is describedbelow.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 21 is anexample of the case of selectively transmitting second proximity servicedata.

Referring to FIG. 21, a transmitting device may start to transmitproximity service data in operation 2101. The transmitting device maydetermine whether a transmission condition for second proximity servicedata is satisfied in operation 2103. When the determination resultindicates that the transmission condition is not satisfied, thetransmitting device may transmit first proximity service data that doesnot include guide information in operation 2105. In contrast, when thedetermination result indicates that the transmission condition issatisfied, the transmitting device may transmit first proximity servicedata that includes the guide information in operation 2107. Further, thetransmitting device may transmit the second proximity service data, orcontrol another device to transmit the second proximity service data.

In FIG. 21, the condition may be defined differently according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. For example, the condition may beconstant transmission. In another example, the condition may be definedsuch that the second proximity service data is transmitted in at leastone case among a case where a device capable of receiving a proximityservice is identified to be present on the periphery, a case where adevice for receiving a proximity service on the periphery and atransmitting device have the same service or service ID, the same venueID, the group ID, and the like, a case where the capability of areceiving device (e.g., supported connectivity, a battery level, sleepmode or not, a device type, a presence or absence of a display means,the size of the display means, etc.) satisfies a pre-defined reference,a case where the distance away from a receiving device (e.g., a distancemeasured through RSSI or RTT) satisfies a pre-defined reference, a casewhere a receiving device is stored in a transmitting device, a casewhere the transmission of the second proximity service data may beselected and data may be indicated through a user interface (UI), and acase where a user consents to transmission.

FIG. 22 is a diagram of a method of selectively providing proximityservice data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG.22 illustrates transmission of proximity service data betweensynchronized devices in an NAN network. FIG. 22 is an example of thecase of selectively transmitting second proximity service data dependingon whether service IDs coincide with each other.

Referring to FIG. 22, device A 2210-1, device B 2210-2, and device C2210-3 transmit signals through synchronized DWs. In this case, thedevice A 2210-1, the device B 2210-2, and the device C 2210-3 transmitfirst proximity service data. In this case, when service IDs ofsynchronized service frames or the first proximity service data are thesame in the respective DWs, guide information for transmittingcorresponding second proximity service data may be transmitted, and thesecond proximity service data may be transmitted in the period indicatedby the guide information.

For example, a description is provided below based on the device A2201-1. The device A 2210-1 transmits first proximity service data for aservice corresponding to service ID A. Further, the device B 2210-2transmits first proximity service data for a service corresponding toservice ID B. Since the service IDs of the device A 2210-1 and thedevice B 2210-2 differ from each other, neither the device A 2210-1 northe device B 2210-2 transmits second proximity service data and guideinformation. Thereafter, the device C 2210-3 transmits first proximityservice data for the service corresponding to the service ID A.Accordingly, the device A 2210-1 identifies that the service ID of theservice provided by the device C 2210-3 coincides with its service ID,and transmit guide information for the second proximity service datarelating to the service ID A.

In FIG. 22, the device B 2210-2 and the device C 2210-3 transmitproximity service data. However, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the device B 2210-2 and the device C 2210-3 may onlytransmit service IDs other than proximity service data.

FIG. 23 is a flow diagram of a procedure of selectively providingproximity service data according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 23 is an example of the case where discovery is madebetween devices. For example, the discovery may be performed by the IEEE802.11 scan, Wi-Fi peer to peer (P2P) scan, the IEEE 802.11u scan, theBluetooth scan, or the like. For example, the discovery of FIG. 23 isperformed by a procedure in which another device transmits a discoveryresponse in response to an active discovery request of a receivingdevice 2320.

Referring to FIG. 23, in operation 2301, a second transmitting device2310 may broadcast data, namely, proximity service data. The secondproximity service data may be periodically broadcast. In operation 2303,the receiving device 2320 may transmit a discovery request. Thediscovery request is received by a first transmitting device 2330. Thefirst transmitting device 2330 is a device that transmits firstproximity service data.

In operation 2305, the first transmitting device 2330 may determinewhether a condition for transmission of guide information is satisfied.For example, the condition may be defined to be satisfied in at leastone case among a case where the device type of the receiving device 2320corresponds to a pre-defined reference, a case whereconnectivity/service supported by the receiving device 2320 correspondsto a pre-defined reference, a case where the receiving device 2320pertains to a pre-allowed device list, and a case where the distanceaway from the receiving device 2320 is less than or equal to a thresholdvalue. In this case, the list may have the format of a contact list, astorage list, or a favorite list of a device. When the condition issatisfied, the first transmitting device 2330 may transmit a discoveryresponse in operation 2307. In this case, the discovery responseincludes first proximity service data, and further includes guideinformation for the second proximity service data. In operation 2309,the second transmitting device 2310 may broadcast the second proximityservice data. Then, in operation 2311, the second transmitting device2310 may broadcast the second proximity service data. Accordingly, inoperation 2313, the receiving device 2320 may receive the secondproximity service data based on response data. In other words, thereceiving device 2320 may receive the second proximity service data inthe transmission period indicated by the guide information.

In FIG. 23, the second transmitting device 2310 periodically transmitsthe second proximity service data irrespective of the determination ofthe first transmitting device 2330. However, according to an embodimentof the present disclosure, the second transmitting device 2310 mayselectively transmit the second proximity service data according to thecontrol of the first transmitting device 2330. In this case, the firsttransmitting device 2330 may control the second transmitting device 2310to transmit the second proximity service data when the condition inoperation 2305 is satisfied.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 24, a proximity service data providing device 2410transmits first proximity service data and second proximity servicedata. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the firstproximity service data and the second proximity service data may betransmitted by different devices.

A receiving device 2420 includes a block 2422 for receiving and parsingthe first proximity service data, a block 2424 for identifying areception condition for the second proximity service data, a block 2426for storing the reception condition, a block 2428 for determiningwhether the reception condition is satisfied, and a block 2430 forreceiving data according to guide information for the second proximityservice data. In this case, the reception condition may not exist.Alternatively, the reception condition may be defined in regard to atleast one of a service/terminal of interest or not, received-signalstrength, a distance, a user selection, and a state and capability of adevice. Accordingly, the receiving device 2420 identifies information byreceiving and parsing the first proximity service data. The identifiedinformation may be transferred to a user UI layer and may be notified toa user. The receiving device 2420 identifies a stored receptioncondition for the second proximity service data before receiving thesecond proximity service data. If there is no reception condition, thereceiving device 2420 may receive the second proximity service datawithout a separate determination when the guide information included inthe first proximity service data is identified.

In the case where the condition is defined in regard to aservice/terminal of interest or not, the receiving device 2420 maydetermine whether to receive the second proximity service data accordingto whether the transmitting device that transmits the first proximityservice data corresponds to a pre-stored allowed or favorite device.Further, the receiving device 2420 may receive the second proximityservice data when a corresponding service satisfies a service filteringcondition stored in the receiving device 2420.

In the case where the condition is defined in regard to received-signalstrength, a distance, a reception error rate, etc., the receiving device2420 measures at least one of received-signal strength, a distance, anda reception error rate by analyzing the first proximity service data.When at least one of the received-signal strength, the distance, and thereception error rate corresponds to a pre-defined reference, thereceiving device 2420 may determine to receive the second proximityservice data.

In the case where the condition is defined in regard to a userselection, the receiving device 2420 may notify a user of information onthe first proximity service data through a UI, and may displayinformation relating to the second proximity service data through adisplay unit. In this case, when a user selection (e.g., a click) isinput, the receiving device 2420 may determine to receive the secondproximity service data based on the input.

In the case where the condition is defined in regard to capability ofthe receiving device 2420, the receiving device 2420 analyzes the firstproximity service data in order to determine whether the secondproximity service data can be received or displayed by using the currentcapacity of the receiving device. Further, the receiving device 2420 maydetermine whether to receive the second proximity service data accordingto the determination result. For example, in the case where thereceiving device 2420 does not include a display unit, or the displayunit is not suitable for representing content, the receiving device 2420may not receive the second proximity service data.

In the case where the condition is defined in regard to a state of thereceiving device 2420, the receiving device 2420 may be in a sleepstate, or may determine whether to receive the second proximity servicedata based on a battery level. For example, when the receiving device2420 is in the sleep state, or when the battery level is less than orequal to a threshold value, the receiving device 2420 may not receivethe second proximity service data.

When at least one of the pre-defined conditions described above issatisfied, the receiving device 2420 determines to receive the secondproximity service data. Accordingly, the receiving device 2420 mayreceive the second proximity service data in the transmission periodindicated by the guide information.

FIG. 25 is a flow diagram of a method of providing proximity servicedata by a plurality of receiving devices according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. FIG. 25 is an example of the case where firstproximity service data and second proximity service data are received bydifferent receiving devices. For example, in the case where thecapability or state of a receiving device that receives the firstproximity service data fails to satisfy a pre-defined condition, thesecond proximity service data may be received by another receivingdevice.

Referring to FIG. 25, initially, a first receiving device 2520 and asecond receiving device 2530 are connected to each other. In operation2501, the first receiving device 2520 may receive the first proximityservice data from a first transmitting device 2540. The first proximityservice data may include guide information for the second proximityservice data and condition information for the reception of the secondproximity service data.

In operation 2503, the first receiving device 2520 may identifycapability thereof. In this case, the capability may include at leastone of whether a bearer for receiving the second proximity service datais supported, a presence or absence of a display unit, a supportedresolution of the display unit, the size of the display unit, whetherfunctionality necessary for outputting the second proximity service datais supported, whether the receiving device is in a sleep state, and aresidual quantity of a battery. Although FIG. 25 is an example ofidentifying the capability, other pieces of information for determiningthe condition, other than the capability of the first receiving device2520, may be identified according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. In FIG. 25, the first receiving device 2520 determineswhether a condition for receiving the second proximity service data issatisfied.

In operation 2505, a second transmitting device 2510 may transmit thesecond proximity service data. The second proximity service data may beperiodically transmitted. According to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the second transmitting device 2510 may transmit the secondproximity service data according to the control of the firsttransmitting device 2540.

In operation 2507, the first receiving device 2520 may transmit thefirst proximity service data to the second receiving device 2530. Thatis, the first receiving device 2520 transfers the second proximityservice data it received to the second receiving device 2530. In thiscase, the first receiving device 2520 also provides the guideinformation to the second receiving device 2530. The second receivingdevice 2530 may be selected due to a connection or connection history tothe periphery. The first proximity service data to be provided to thesecond receiving device 2530 may be transferred by forwarding data of achip level. In this case, the host of the second receiving device 2530in a sleep state may not be woken up, thereby reducing currentconsumption.

In operation 2509, the second receiving device 2530 may search for thesecond transmitting device 2510 indicated by the guide information, andcalculates a reception time, namely, a transmission period indicated bythe guide information.

In operation 2511, the second transmitting device 2510 may transmit thesecond proximity service data. The second proximity service data may beperiodically transmitted. Accordingly, the second receiving device 2530may receive the second proximity service data.

The embodiment of the present disclosure illustrated in FIG. 25 may beapplied to a mobile device (e.g., a smart phone) and a wearable device(e.g., a smart watch). In other words, the first receiving device 2520may be a wearable device, and the second receiving device 2530 may be amobile device. In the case where the mobile device and the wearabledevice are used while being connected to each other, a user maygenerally receive a basic notification through the wearable device. Inthis case, although the wearable device may receive the first proximityservice data, the wearable device may consume a large amount of power toreceive and display the second proximity service data, and a displayunit may not be large enough to receive and display the second proximityservice data. Accordingly, the wearable device may transfer the firstproximity service data to the mobile device, and may transfer thereception of the second proximity service data.

FIGS. 26A and 26B are diagrams of proximity service data transferaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIGS. 26A and26B, NAN is utilized, and sharing a photographed image is illustrated.

Referring to FIG. 26A, a plurality of synchronized devices 2610-1 to2610-12 exist. Proximity service data transmission, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure, may be utilized to transfer animage taken by one of the devices 2610-1 to 2610-12 to the other devicestherearound. As such, surrounding users can be automatically providedwith the image without special actions thereof. However, the image istransmitted to the devices 2610-2 to 2610-11 other than the device L2610-12 beyond a sharing boundary 2690.

Referring to FIG. 26B, for the purpose for sharing an image with thesurrounding devices 2610-2 to 2610-11, the device A 2610-1 executes aservice for taking an image. For example, the device A 2610-1 mayactivate a sharing mode of a camera application. The synchronized deviceA 2610-1 executes the service and announces a service ID or a servicename corresponding to the service through a DW. The service ID may beincluded in first proximity service data according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. However, first proximity service data thatincludes the service ID may not include service data guide information.

In the case where the synchronized surrounding devices 2610-2 to 2610-12retain the same service, that is, in the case where the other devices2610-2 to 2610-12 recognize the sharing mode of the camera application,the other devices 2610-2 to 2610-12 may announce device informationthereof in response to the announcement of the service ID. The deviceinformation may include the phone number of a relevant device, an imageof the device owner, and the like, and may further include an ID fordistinguishing the device owner. In addition, the device A 2610-1 mayalso transmit the device information. The device information may beincluded in first proximity service data according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. However, first proximity servicedata that includes the device information may not include service dataguide information.

When an image is taken by the device A 2610-1, the device A 2610-1 maytransmit the image to the other devices 2610-2 to 2610-11. In this case,the image may be shared only with the limited devices 2610-2 to 2610-11.For example, only the devices 2610-2 to 2610-11 having actuallyparticipated in taking the image may be defined as sharing targets. Thedevice A 2610-1 which transmits the image may specify the devices 2610-2to 2610-11 which will receive the image, by adding the sharing boundary2690 condition. For example, a camera measures the distance away from asubject for a focal length before taking an image, and the device A2610-1 may define the sharing boundary 2690 based on the distanceinformation and may transmit information on the sharing boundary 2690.In this case, the sharing boundary 2690 may include at least one of avalue representing a distance, a received signal strength indicator(RSSI) value corresponding to the distance, and round trip time (RTT)information. The sharing boundary 2690 condition may be transmitted asservice data guide information. That is, the device A 2610-1, aftertaking the image, may transmit first proximity service data includingservice data guide information that includes the sharing boundary 2690condition. In this case, only the devices 2610-2 to 2610-11 locatedwithin the sharing boundary 2690 may participate in the reception of thesecond proximity service data.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure in which the device A 2610-1limits the sharing boundary 2690 of receiving devices, a sharing rangemay be restricted based on the size of a subject in addition to thecamera focal length. Since the size of a subject included in an image isgenerally inversely proportional to a distance, a sharing range may berestricted based on the size of the subject. For example, the device A2610-1 may identify the size of a subject (e.g., the size of a face)included in an image, estimate a distance from the size, and specify areception condition using an RSSI or RTT determined from the distancevalue or the distance.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a sharing range may berestricted based on a phone number. As described above, the synchronizeddevices 2610-1 to 2610-11 may share device information (e.g., a phonenumber) when the sharing mode of the camera application is executed. Thedevice A 2610-1 may transmit the image, namely, the second proximityservice data only to the devices 2610-2 to 2610-11 included in acontact, namely, a phone number list. In this case, the device A 2610-1may specify a target terminal ID. The target terminal ID may betransmitted through the first proximity service data. In this case, thedevices 2610-2 to 2610-11 which receive the image may also selectivelyparticipate in the reception according to whether the phone number ofthe device A 2610-1 is included in the contact.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a sharing rangemay be restricted based on a dwell time. Even if device information, forexample, phone numbers transmitted from the other devices 2610-2 to2610-12 are not included in the contact of the device A 2610-1, thedevice A 2610-1 may include a device that is located within the RSSIboundary of the device A 2610-1 for a predetermined period of time in areception target device. The predetermined period of time may be definedby a pre-defined number of DWs.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a sharing rangemay be restricted based on a face recognition result. That is, in thecase where a face extracted from a photographed image coincides with aface on another user's already stored image, the corresponding devicemay be included as a sharing target. For example, the device A 2610-1may recognize people's faces on an image taken by a camera, and when thefaces coincide with an image of another device included in the contact,the device A 2610-1 may select the corresponding device as a targetdevice that will share the image.

Unlike the embodiment of the present disclosure illustrated in FIG. 26B,the device A 2610-1 may include information relating to a transmissionperiod, data information, and the like in first proximity service data,and may not specify separate target device information or a receptioncondition. In this case, unlike as illustrated in FIG. 26B, all of thedevices 2610-2 to 2610-12 that received the first proximity service datamay receive second proximity service data.

The example illustrated in FIGS. 26A and 26B uses NAN. However,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the exampleillustrated in FIGS. 26A and 26B may be carried out based on BLE.

FIG. 27 is a diagram of a method of providing proximity service dataaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 27 is anexample of the case of using both NAN and BLE.

An NAN module may not operate due to power consumption or the use ofanother communication module (e.g., a Wi-Fi module). In this case, NANmodules of devices may be triggered through a BLE beacon as illustratedin FIG. 27. Similarly to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 26B, deviceA 2710-1 announces a service ID in order to inform that a sharing cameraservice is executed. However, the service ID is transmitted through aBLE beacon. Simultaneously, the device A 2710-1 starts an operation forNAN synchronization. Then, in the case where devices that alreadyoperate with NAN exist, the device A 2710-1 may synchronize with thedevices. Other devices 2710-2 to 2710-12 that perform a receivingoperation in a BLE scan mode receive the BLE beacon and start an NANsynchronization operation. That is, the device A 2710-1 transmits asignal for instructing activation of the NAN module. A device in whichNAN is already activated and operates may omit the synchronizationoperation.

Thereafter, the other devices 2710-2 to 2710-12 may announce deviceinformation thereof in response to the announcement of the service ID incases where the other devices 2710-2 to 2710-12 retain the same service,that is, in cases where the other devices 2710-2 to 2710-12 recognize asharing mode of a camera application. The device information may includethe phone number of a relevant device, an image of the device owner, andthe like, and may further include an ID for distinguishing the deviceowner. In addition, the device A 2710-1 may also transmit the deviceinformation.

When an image is taken by the device A 2710-1, the device A 2710-1 maytransmit the image to the other devices 2710-2 to 2710-12. In this case,only the limited devices 2710-2 to 2710-11 may share the image. Forexample, only the devices 2710-2 to 2710-11 that actually participatedin taking the image may be defined as sharing targets. The device A2710-1 which transmits the image may specify the devices 2710-2 to2710-12 which will receive the image, by adding a sharing boundarycondition. For example, a camera measures the distance away from asubject for a focal length before taking an image, and the device A2710-1 may define the sharing boundary based on the distance informationand may transmit information on the sharing boundary. In this case, thesharing boundary may include at least one of a value representing adistance, an RSSI value corresponding to the distance, and RTTinformation. In this case, only the devices 2710-2 to 2710-11 locatedwithin the sharing boundary may participate in the reception of thesecond proximity service data.

FIGS. 28A and 28B are diagrams of proximity service data transferaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. A case ofproviding a multimedia streaming service to customers in a specificstore is exemplified in FIGS. 28A and 28B.

Referring to FIG. 28A, devices 2810-1 to 2810-4 are located in abuilding. That is, the devices 2810-1 to 2810-4 are located in acoverage area where the devices 2810-1 to 2810-4 can communicate witheach other. In other words, the devices 2810-1 to 2810-4 are located ina second service data coverage area.

Referring to FIG. 28B, the device A 2810-1 transmits first proximityservice data. The first proximity service data may include service dataguide information 2860 that contains data description information onsecond proximity service data, transmission channel related information,transmission period related information, transmitting deviceinformation, and the like. In FIG. 28B, the second proximity servicedata is transmitted by the device A 2810-1 and another device B 2810-2.In this case, the second proximity service data may be divided into aplurality of segments, where each segment may be transmitted by thedifferent devices 2810-2 to 2810-4. The devices 2810-2 to 2810-4 maytransmit different service data and may use different channels.Alternatively, in the case where the same transmission channel is used,the transmission periods of the devices 2810-2 to 2810-4 may bedetermined to be different from each other. In another example, in thecase where the same transmission period is used, the devices 2810-2 to2810-4 may transmit data based on competition according to the Wi-Fistandard.

Accordingly, the service data guide information 2860 transmitted by thedevice A 2810-1 may include information on the devices 2810-2 to 2810-4.For example, if second proximity service data transmitted by the deviceB 2810-2 pertains to service A, second proximity service datatransmitted by the device C 2810-3 pertains to service B, and secondproximity service data transmitted by the device D 2810-3 pertains toservice C, the service data guide information 2860 may include guideinformation for the service A, guide information for the service B, andguide information for the service C. For example, service A may providea movie, service B may provide a television program, and service C mayprovide music.

In the case where devices of customers that visit a store send feedbackmessages, the second proximity service data may be transmitted toselected devices. In this case, the second proximity service data may betransmitted through at least one scheme of unicasting, multicasting, andbroadcasting. Alternatively, in order to communicate only in thecoverage area illustrated in FIG. 28A, an RSSI boundary for receivingthe second proximity service data may be restricted to the range of thestore. In this case, a service may be limited to the customers in thestore.

Although FIGS. 28A and 28B are illustrated as being carried out based onNAN, an embodiment of the present disclosure may be carried out based onvarious other connectivity methods.

FIGS. 29A and 29B are diagrams of proximity service data transferaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIGS. 29A and 29Billustrate an example of a service scenario for establishing a personalmusic broadcast between users that are in a public place, such as publictransportation, for a predetermined period of time.

Referring to FIGS. 29A and 29B, device NAN A 2910-1 and device NAN B2910-2 may transmit, through first proximity service data, service dataguide information 2960-1 and 2960-2 that include service datadescription information, a transmission channel, transmitting deviceinformation, and time information for second proximity service data. Inthis case, any surrounding device may provide a personal musicbroadcast. In FIG. 29A, the two devices A 2910-1 and B 2910-2 establishpersonal music broadcasts. Data of the personal music broadcasts may beincluded in second proximity service data, and may include all music orstreaming services that a terminal owner wants to share.

Referring to FIG. 29B, the device A 2910-1 and the device B 2910-2establish music broadcasts, respectively. Since the devices provide thedifferent music broadcasts, the device A 2910-1 transmits service dataguide information 2960-1 for service A, and the device B 2910-2transmits service data guide information 2960-2 for service B. In thecase where the plurality of transmitting devices A 2910-1 and B 2910-2establish the music broadcasts, at least one of a channel and time fortransferring second proximity service data may be different.Alternatively, the transmitting devices A 2910-1 and B 2910-2 maytransmit the second proximity service data based on competition in thesame channel and transmission period.

The transmitting devices A 2910-1 and B 2910-2 may provide the secondproximity service data including data of the music broadcasts to allsurrounding devices synchronized with NAN through a broadcasting scheme.Further, in the case where first proximity service data for informingthat a music broadcast is established is transmitted, and thereaftersurrounding devices transmit responses to the establishing of the musicbroadcast within a pre-defined DW, the transmitting devices A 2910-1 andB 2910-2 may broadcast, multicast, or unicast the second proximityservice data only for the devices that transmitted the responses.

As illustrated in FIG. 29B, in the case where the plurality of musicbroadcasts are established, receiving devices C 2910-3 and D 2910-4 mayselect a service to be received by a user selection. In addition, thereceiving devices C 2910-3 and D 2910-4, while receiving a broadcast,may transmit, through NAN, feedback messages including user inputs withan assessment of the broadcast.

Although FIGS. 29A and 29B are illustrated as being carried out based onNAN, an embodiment of the present disclosure may be carried out based onvarious other connectivity methods.

In general, when device discovery for connection is performed, onlybrief information, such as a brief name of a peer device, an MACaddress, an IP address, etc. is identified so that there is a deficiencyin the selection of a target for connection or file transmission.Accordingly, in FIGS. 30A and 30B, which illustrate an applicationexample for overcoming a problem caused by a deficiency in informationon a counterpart, all synchronized devices may transmit a larger amountof device introduction information in a certain channel and transmissionperiod when a certain device makes a discovery request in a networksynchronized through NAN.

FIGS. 30A and 30B are diagrams of proximity service data transferaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIGS. 30A and 30Billustrate an example of acquiring and displaying richer counterpartinformation during discovery between devices.

As illustrated in FIG. 30A, a plurality of devices A 3010-1 to F 3010-6are located in a single NAN cluster. Accordingly, each of the pluralityof devices A 3010-1 to F 3010-6 may discover the remaining devicesthrough a discovery procedure.

Referring to FIG. 30B, in the case where discovery is requested inaccordance with a condition of a user or a device, the device A 3010-1may transmit an additional message with a meaning of a discovery requestin addition to first proximity service data information. The additionalmessage may include a certain service name or ID or a pre-definedprotocol name or ID. The first proximity service data may includeattributes of service data to be transmitted. In other words, servicedata guide information 3060 included in the first proximity service datamay include description information for introduction/advertisementinformation. For example, the description information may inform thatthe second proximity service data includes deviceintroduction/advertisement information, such as a representative image,a greeting message, an emoticon, a business card, and the like. That is,the introduction/advertisement information may be included in secondproximity service information according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Further, the first proximity service data may include atransmission channel, a transmission period, and transmitting deviceinformation.

The transmitting device information may be indicated as all devices,including the transmitting device, which constitute a surrounding NANnetwork. In this case, MAC addresses, IP addresses, and device names ofall surrounding devices B 3010-2 to F 3010-6 including a device thattriggers discovery by transmitting the first proximity service data maybe included in the transmitting device information. In addition, aservice name, a service ID, and a service protocol name and ID may befurther included in the transmitting device information in order toinvolve only a device that drives a service to be transmitted indiscovery. Alternatively, a name and ID for representing a group, suchas an NAN cluster ID, may be included in the transmitting deviceinformation in order to request discovery from all devices synchronizedwith an NAN network.

The devices B 3010-2 to F 3010-6 included in an NAN cluster transmittheir introduction information in the channel and transmission period3080 which are specified by the device A 3010-1 that requested thediscovery. The introduction information may be transmitted based oncompetition. In FIG. 30B, the device A 3010-1 transmits deviceintroduction information 3070-1, the device B 3010-2 transmits deviceintroduction information 3070-2, the device C 3010-3 transmits deviceintroduction information 3070-3, the device D 3010-4 transmits deviceintroduction information 3070-4, the device E 3010-5 transmits deviceintroduction information 3070-5, and the device F 3010-6 transmitsdevice introduction information 3070-6. Accordingly, each of the devicesA 3010-1 to F 3010-6 may receive introduction information of the otherdevices.

The introduction information may include deviceintroduction/advertisement information that includes a representativeimage, a greeting message, an emoticon, a business card, and the like ofeach device. In addition, the device A 3010-1 may receive deviceintroduction information of all the surrounding devices B 3010-2 to F3010-6, and may express the device introduction information as adiscovery result. Likewise, the devices B 3010-2 to F 3010-6 other thanthe device A 3010-1 may also receive the device introductioninformation, and may utilize the device introduction information as thediscovery result.

FIGS. 31A, 31B, and 31C are diagrams of proximity service data transferaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIGS. 31A, 31B,and 31C illustrate an example of the case where a proximity service datatransfer method is utilized in a museum, a store, and the like.

FIG. 31A illustrates a situation where device A 3110-1, that transmitsan explanation of a picture in a museum or an art gallery, is present inthe museum or art gallery, and FIG. 31B illustrates a situation wheredevice A 3110-1, that transmits explanation of a product in a store, ispresent in the store. The device A 3110-1 may transmit data includingthe explanation of a work or the explanation of a product to otherdevices 3110-2 located in a predetermined reception coverage area. Thecoverage area may be adjusted by control of power transmitted to thevicinity of the picture or the product. Alternatively, the device A3110-1 may indicate an RSSI, a distance, an RTT, and the like as areception condition for second proximity service data.

Referring to FIG. 31C, the device A 3110-1 transmits first proximityservice data that includes service data guide information 3160. Theservice data guide information 3160 may include a transmission channel,description information, transmission time information, and the like forsecond proximity service data. The other devices 3110-2 that receive theservice data guide information 3160 receive the first proximity servicedata and notify a user of the data reception. Accordingly, the user mayapprove the provision of additional information as a response to thenotification. In the case where the user approves the provision of theadditional information, the receiving devices 3110-2 may receive thesecond proximity service data according to the service data guideinformation 3160 included in the first proximity service data.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart of a method of an electronic device according toan embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 32 is an example ofreceiving proximity service data, namely, advertisement data by theelectronic device.

Referring to FIG. 32, the electronic device may receive first proximityservice data in operation 3201. In this case, the first proximityservice data includes guide information necessary for receiving secondproximity service data. In other words, the first proximity service dataincludes guide information that includes information on the secondproximity service data. In this case, the second proximity service datais data previously established when the first proximity service data istransmitted. The information on the second proximity service data may beassociated with a resource (e.g., a transmission time point) fortransferring the second proximity service data, a transmission methodfor transmitting the second proximity service data, an attribute forcontent of the second proximity service data, a transmitter or receiverof the second proximity service data, and the like. For example, theguide information may include at least one of information on a devicethat transmits the second proximity service data, information on atransmission method for transmitting the second proximity service data,information on a channel for transferring the second proximity servicedata, information on a transmission start time of the second proximityservice data, information on a transmission end time of the secondproximity service data, information on a transmission cycle of thesecond proximity service data, information on a transmission period ofthe second proximity service data, information on security of the secondproximity service data, information on a period allocated in order toexchange a key for the second proximity service data, information on acondition for determining whether to receive the second proximityservice data, description information on content included in the secondproximity service data, identification information of a target that willreceive the second proximity service data, and information fordetermining a geographical reception boundary of the second proximityservice data.

Then, the electronic device may receive the second proximity servicedata based on the guide information in operation 3203. In this case, thesecond proximity service data may be received from a device thattransmitted the first proximity service data, or may be received from adevice other than the device that transmitted the first proximityservice data.

In FIG. 32, the electronic device receives the second proximity servicedata. However, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, theoperation 3203 may be omitted. In this case, the electronic device maydetermine whether to receive the second proximity service data, and,when not receiving the second proximity service data, the electronicdevice may transmit the first proximity service data to anotherelectronic device. That is, the electronic device may transfer the taskof receiving the second proximity service data to the other electronicdevice. For example, the electronic device may determine whether toreceive the second proximity service data based on at least one ofwhether a bearer for receiving the second proximity service data issupported, a presence or absence of a display unit, a supportedresolution of the display unit, the size of the display unit, whetherfunctionality necessary for outputting the second proximity service datais supported, whether the electronic device is in a sleep state, aresidual quantity of a battery, a distance away from a device thattransmits the second proximity service data, a signal quality of asignal including the first proximity service data, a user command,identification information of a service to which the second proximityservice data pertains, and identification information of the device thattransmits the second proximity service data.

The electronic device may receive a key for the second proximity servicedata for a first period indicated by the guide information, and mayreceive the second proximity service data for a second period indicatedby the guide information. In this case, the key may be synchronizedbased on a connection or no connection.

The electronic device may perform an operation of IP allocation beforethe operation 3201. For example, the electronic device may allocate anIP address thereof according to a pre-defined rule, and may transmit theIP address to at least one surrounding device. In this case, when the IPaddress collides with an IP address allocated by another device, thatis, when it is identified that the other device has allocated an IPaddress identical to the IP address, the electronic device transmits amessage for informing of the collision of the IP address. Accordingly,the other electronic device, which has determined the same IP addressafter the electronic device, reallocates another IP address.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart of a method of an electronic device according toan embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 33 is an example oftransmitting proximity service data, namely, advertisement data by theelectronic device.

Referring to FIG. 33, the electronic device may transmit first proximityservice data in operation 3301. The first proximity service dataincludes guide information necessary for receiving second proximityservice data. In other words, the first proximity service data includesguide information that includes information on the second proximityservice data. For example, the information on the second proximityservice data may be associated with a resource (e.g., a transmissiontime point) for transferring the second proximity service data, atransmission method for transmitting the second proximity service data,an attribute for content of the second proximity service data, atransmitter or receiver of the second proximity service data, and thelike. For example, the guide information may include at least one ofinformation on a device that transmits the second proximity servicedata, information on a transmission method for transmitting the secondproximity service data, information on a channel for transferring thesecond proximity service data, information on a transmission start timeof the second proximity service data, information on a transmission endtime of the second proximity service data, information on a transmissioncycle of the second proximity service data, information on atransmission period of the second proximity service data, information onsecurity of the second proximity service data, information on a periodallocated in order to exchange a key for the second proximity servicedata, information on a condition for determining whether to receive thesecond proximity service data, description information on contentincluded in the second proximity service data, identificationinformation of a target that will receive the second proximity servicedata, and information for determining a geographical reception boundaryof the second proximity service data.

Then, the electronic device may transmit the second proximity servicedata according to a configuration indicated by the guide information inoperation 3303. The first and second proximity service data may includeadvertisement content, and the second proximity service data may includehigh-capacity data, as compared to the first proximity service data.

In FIG. 33, the electronic device includes the guide information in thefirst proximity service data. However, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, when a pre-defined condition is satisfied, theelectronic device may transmit the first proximity service data thatdoes not include the guide information. For example, the pre-definedcondition may include at least one of whether a device to receive thesecond proximity service data exists within a predetermined distance,whether a device for using the device to which the second proximityservice data pertains exists within a predetermined distance, capabilityinformation of a device that received the first proximity service data,a state of the device that received the first proximity service data, adistance from the device that received the first proximity service data,a signal quality for the device that received the first proximityservice data, and whether the device that received the first proximityservice data is included in a pre-defined list.

In FIG. 33, the electronic device transmits the second proximity servicedata. However, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, theoperation 3303 may be omitted. In this case, the electronic device maycontrol another electronic device to transmit the second proximityservice data in a period indicated by the guide information.

Prior to operation 3301, the electronic device may transmit a signalrequesting the activation of a second communication method fortransferring the first proximity service data through a firstcommunication method. Accordingly, the electronic device may performsynchronization for the second communication method with at least oneother electronic device.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart of a method of an electronic device according toan embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 34 is an example oftransmitting proximity service data, namely, advertisement data by theelectronic device under control of another electronic device.

Referring to FIG. 34, the electronic device may receive an instructionfor second proximity service data transmission in operation 3401. Theinstruction is received from another electronic device that transmittedthe first proximity service data. The electronic device and the otherelectronic device may be connected through short-range communication oran external network. The first and second proximity service data mayinclude advertisement content, and the second proximity service data mayinclude high-capacity data, as compared to the first proximity servicedata.

Then, the electronic device may transmit the second proximity servicedata in operation 3403. The electronic device transmits the secondproximity service data according to a configuration indicated by guideinformation that is included in the first proximity service datatransmitted by the other electronic device. For example, the guideinformation may include at least one of information on a device thattransmits the second proximity service data, information on atransmission method for transmitting the second proximity service data,information on a channel for transferring the second proximity servicedata, information on a transmission start time of the second proximityservice data, information on a transmission end time of the secondproximity service data, information on a transmission cycle of thesecond proximity service data, information on a transmission period ofthe second proximity service data, information on security of the secondproximity service data, information on a period allocated in order toexchange a key for the second proximity service data, information on acondition for determining whether to receive the second proximityservice data, description information on content included in the secondproximity service data, identification information of a target that willreceive the second proximity service data, and information fordetermining a geographical reception boundary of the second proximityservice data. At this time, the second proximity service data istransmitted through a proximity service that uses low power.

In FIG. 34, the electronic device receives an instruction for the secondproximity service data transmission. However, according to an embodimentof the present disclosure, operation 3401 may be omitted. For example,in the case where the electronic device is set in advance to transmitthe second proximity service data, the operation 3401 may be omitted.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronicdevice may synchronize guide information with other electronic device.For example, the electronic device may notify the other electronicdevice of the guide information. Alternatively, the electronic devicemay be provided with the guide information from the other electronicdevice. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, among the electronicdevice and the other electronic device, one may request guideinformation, and a procedure approved by the other may be performed. Inan embodiment of the present disclosure, the guide information may besynchronized by an operator offline.

The embodiments disclosed herein are provided merely to easily describetechnical details of the present disclosure and to facilitateunderstanding of the present disclosure, but are not intended to limitthe scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, various modificationsand changes may be made without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device, comprising: a receiver; anda processor configured to receive first proximity service data throughthe receiver, wherein the first proximity service data comprises guideinformation that contains information indicating a device fortransmitting second proximity service data and a transmission time pointof the second proximity service data.
 2. The electronic device of claim1, wherein the guide information further comprises at least one ofinformation on a transmission method for transmitting the secondproximity service data, information on a channel for transferring thesecond proximity service data, information on a transmission start timeof the second proximity service data, information on a transmission endtime of the second proximity service data, information on a transmissioncycle of the second proximity service data, information on atransmission period of the second proximity service data, information onsecurity of the second proximity service data, information on a periodallocated in order to exchange a key for the second proximity servicedata, information on a condition for determining whether to receive thesecond proximity service data, description information on contentincluded in the second proximity service data, identificationinformation of a target that will receive the second proximity servicedata, and information for determining a geographical reception boundaryof the second proximity service data.
 3. The electronic device of claim1, wherein the processor is further configured to receive the firstproximity service data through a periodic communication periodsynchronized with at least one other electronic device.
 4. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to receive the first proximity service data transmitted froma first transmitting device, and receive the second proximity servicedata transmitted from the first transmitting device based on the guideinformation.
 5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processoris further configured to receive the first proximity service datatransmitted from a first transmitting device, and receive the secondproximity service data transmitted from a second transmitting devicebased on the guide information.
 6. The electronic device of claim 1,further comprising: a transmitter configured to transmit the firstproximity service data to another device when not receiving the secondproximity service data, wherein the processor is further configured todetermine whether to receive the second proximity service data.
 7. Theelectronic device of claim 1, further comprising: a transmitterconfigured to transmit a device address determined for the electronicdevice to at least one surrounding device, wherein the processor isfurther configured to reallocate another device address when the deviceaddress collides with a device address allocated by another device. 8.The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to receive a key for the second proximity service data for afirst period indicated by the guide information, and receive the secondproximity service data for a second period indicated by the guideinformation.
 9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processoris further configured to determine whether to receive the secondproximity service data based on at least one of whether a bearer forreceiving the second proximity service data is supported, a presence orabsence of a display unit, a supported resolution of the display unit, asize of the display unit, whether functionality necessary for outputtingthe second proximity service data is supported, a sleep state or not, aresidual quantity of a battery, a distance away from a device thattransmits the second proximity service data, a signal quality of asignal including the first proximity service data, a user command,identification information of a service to which the second proximityservice data pertains, and identification information of the device thattransmits the second proximity service data.
 10. An electronic device,comprising: a transmitter; and a processor configured to transmit firstproximity service data through the transmitter, wherein the firstproximity service data comprises guide information that containsinformation indicating a device for transmitting second proximityservice data and a transmission time point of the second proximityservice data.
 11. An electronic device, comprising: a transmitter; and aprocessor configured to transmit second proximity service data throughthe transmitter, wherein the second proximity service data istransmitted at a transmission time point indicated by guide informationthat is included in first proximity service data transmitted by anotherelectronic device.
 12. A method of an electronic device, comprising:receiving first proximity service data, wherein the first proximityservice data comprises guide information that contains informationindicating a device for transmitting second proximity service data and atransmission time point of the second proximity service data.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the guide information further comprises atleast one of information on a transmission method for transmitting thesecond proximity service data, information on a channel for transferringthe second proximity service data, information on a transmission starttime of the second proximity service data, information on a transmissionend time of the second proximity service data, information on atransmission cycle of the second proximity service data, information ona transmission period of the second proximity service data, informationon security of the second proximity service data, information on aperiod allocated in order to exchange a key for the second proximityservice data, information on a condition for determining whether toreceive the second proximity service data, description information oncontent included in the second proximity service data, identificationinformation of a target that is to receive the second proximity servicedata, and information for determining a geographical reception boundaryof the second proximity service data.
 14. The operating method of claim12, wherein receiving the first proximity service data comprises:receiving the first proximity service data through a periodiccommunication period synchronized with at least one other electronicdevice.
 15. The method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving thesecond proximity service data transmitted from a first transmittingdevice based on the guide information, wherein the first proximityservice data is received from the first transmitting device, and thesecond proximity service data is received from the first transmittingdevice.
 16. The method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving thesecond proximity service data transmitted from a first transmittingdevice based on the guide information, wherein the first proximityservice data is received from the first transmitting device, and thesecond proximity service data is received from a second transmittingdevice.
 17. The method of claim 12, further comprising: determiningwhether to receive the second proximity service data; and transmittingthe first proximity service data to another device when not receivingthe second proximity service data.
 18. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising: transmitting a device address determined for the electronicdevice to at least one surrounding device; and reallocating anotherdevice address when the device address collides with a device addressallocated by another device.
 19. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising: receiving a key for the second proximity service data for afirst period indicated by the guide information; and receiving thesecond proximity service data for a second period indicated by the guideinformation.
 20. The method of claim 12, further comprising: determiningwhether to receive the second proximity service data based on at leastone of whether a bearer for receiving the second proximity service datais supported, a presence or absence of a display unit, a supportedresolution of the display unit, a size of the display unit, whetherfunctionality necessary for outputting the second proximity service datais supported, a sleep state or not, a residual quantity of a battery, adistance away from a device that transmits the second proximity servicedata, a signal quality of a signal including the first proximity servicedata, a user command, identification information of a service to whichthe second proximity service data pertains, and identificationinformation of the device that transmits the second proximity servicedata.
 21. A method for of an electronic device, comprising: transmittingfirst proximity service data, wherein the first proximity service datacomprises guide information that contains information indicating adevice for transmitting second proximity service data and a transmissiontime point of the second proximity service data.
 22. A method for anelectronic device, comprising: transmitting second proximity servicedata, wherein the second proximity service data is transmitted at atransmission time point indicated by guide information that is includedin first proximity service data transmitted by another electronicdevice.